Coming Of Age
by Persephone Muse
Summary: A pre HOBBIT story set over 100 years before The Quest! This is the story of Prince Thorin and ThoraLee, who is an identical twin, who will be the future queen of the Nogrod and Durin Clans. But first, this is their story of how they meet and fall in love! It's full of ups and ups! Featuring Frerin, Balin, Dwalin, Oin, and Gloin!
1. Chapter 2

**I do not own any part pertaining to the The book ; THE HOBBIT or its characters, any part here is of my own. And the characters are my own imaginations.**

Coming Of Age – Chapter 1

…..

This story took place over a hundred years before Smaug the dragons ever took the notion of coming to Erebor and settled down!

For a Dwarf maiden, turning twenty-one, or Coming of Age was a very important occasion. So much so that King Thrain made it an annual feast for the Kingdom's dwarven maidens.

Every dwarf maiden was excited on this occasion as this was a chance for them to be presented to the King…and Prince Thorin. He was the current most eligible and handsomest bachelor in Erebor, the Kingdom ruled by Thrain with the nearby city of Dale also inhabited by the hard working Dwarves. Even the young men turning 21 were excited as they were invited to the grand feast at the Palace.

Thorin, at the moment, was not amused by the title his best friends who were also his cousins and his youngest and only brother, had given him. He was pacing angrily in his chambers as he fidgeted and fussed with his new outfit; a most uncomfortable high collar buttoned, and terribly constricted around his thick neck and constraining his chin. There was a long row of buttons that continued down to the bottom that ended below his knees with long sleeves that ended at his wrists. Tunic was what his valet had called it. Thorin had snorted as it resembled more a half dress than a masculine outfit more suited his usual style; he preferred his usual outfit which was a casual shirt that had a few buttons that made for easy removal and fastening.

"Young Prince," His valet, Crimm sighed again for the umpteenth time. "If you'll please stop tugging around the neck button or you'll tear it out before the ceremony starts!"

Thorin dropped his hand by his side and glared at him, Crimm wisely refrained as he quickly brushed the tunic free of dust.

The door to his room suddenly banged open as Thorin's youngest brother, Frerin, came stomping in; his face was as dark as his brother.

"Crimm, what the devil is this …this…dress? We'll be the laughing stock of the ceremony!" He glared at the valet in the exact same manner as his brother. Were it not for the fact that the brothers were several years apart, Crimm could have sworn he thought they were carbon copies. Luckily something else set them apart as well was the color of their tunic; while Thorin was sapphire that enhanced his ice blue eyes, Frerin was maroon, matching his amber-brown eyes.

In truth, the princely brothers looked very regal in their outfits.

Crimm rolled his eyes upward, "Your Highnesses, it's called a tunic. It's a masculine outfit and it's very regal for young princes such as you to look good. Is it so hard for me to keep you gentlemen looking well and attractive? Who's to know, you might find _the one_ tonight Thorin."

The two said princes exchange arched looks and then burst into laughter much to the consternation of their beloved valet who had been with the family since King Thrain was a wee dwarf baby.

"Laugh all you want. Mark my words, you two imps. Mark my words. Someone is going to knock you over." He left the room without further words.

Thorin frowned after Crimm had left sadly. "I think we hurt his feelings this time, Frerin."

Frerin shook his head, "Oh no, I didn't you did, Thorin. You're always saying stupid things to Crimm."

Thorin frowned at his younger brother, "Do you think I should seek him and apologize?"

Frerin shook his head, "Nah, he'll be all right by the morrow. Besides, we must meet with father now or he'll give us the same lecture on punctuality again."

Thorin nodded as he threw his arm around his beloved brother, "You're right, we best get on our way, Frerin."

They left the chambers arm in arm soon and made their way to the Main Halls where the King was waiting for his two sons, and the Feast of the Coming of Age. A ceremony in which all dwarves who turned 21 were invited to feast at the palace. King Thrain looked forward to this as he was always looking forward to a future Queen for his eldest son. Although he may be still very young but it was never too young to start looking for now as female dwarves were scarce.

And so far, Thorin had not shown any interest in choosing his future queen.

His father, King Thrain, was seated in his throne.

The two princes approaching the throne made their bows and moved to stand to his right.

Thrain looked at his sons and saw Thorin's scowl and asked, "Why do you look as if I'm about to sentence you to the dungeons?"

Thorin shrugged, "Because I think this ceremony is just a bunch of crock…sir."

Frerin suddenly was overcome with fits of coughs; his face of turning into the same shade as his tunic.

His father, once he found that his youngest son was in no danger of dying from choking, sighed, "Thorin, we go through this every year. You are of marriageable age. You need a wife and a queen, I need grandchildren. The Durin line must go on."

"But mother just had Dis. She is still young and has many more years to go. How is she, by the way?" Thorin asked.

The Queen had just given birth to their first and only daughter, Dis. The Queen was finally happy to have a daughter after giving her King two sons. She was now in confinement to recuperate from the happy but difficult birth.

"Your mother is resting, happy but weak. She will be happy you asked about her. Don't think I don't know you're changing the subject…."

Thorin nodded and tuned out as he thought about his mother; since her confinement he had not talked to her. They had been close-knit. He shared his problems with her more than he did with his father. He cherished their talks, he couldn't wait when she was well enough to emerge from her chambers and also to get a glimpse of the newest addition of the family whom he was told was a cutest and chubbiest little babe. He felt protective of his little sister already.

"…a line in the family I am worry that you will not take all this seriously." The King continued his speech about his family's lineage. "You're not getting any younger, son. And you're the oldest. Your mother is desiring grandchildren."

This time it was Thorin that was choking, Frerin was now happily patting his brother's back a little bit harder than necessary. Thorin shove his hand away.

"Father, I think I'm still young and have plenty of time.

Thrain shook his head, "By Durin's tomb…"

Thorin and Frerin muttered together as their father uttered, "…why me?"

…..

While the Princes were waiting for the ceremony to begin, over in the city of Dale, in a modest house of a metal smither lived a widowed dwarf and his twin son and daughter.

The twins were identical by the names of ThoraLee for the girl, and the boy, JoraLee.

"What is the purpose of these things?" She pointed at the sleeves; she was used to wearing trousers and rolled up fitted sleeves, so she could move about when she worked.

"I can't carve a piece of metal with these…these… cumbersome sleeves!"

Her father, Erimm, laughed indulgently at his daughter. Then he sobered up quickly when she turned around to glare at him; she looked so much like their mother his beloved late wife.

ThoraLee had grown up beautifully; she was tall and slim, usual for a dwarf female as they were usually short in stature and plump. Her hands were slender and dainty, fingers long and trim, easy for fine handling for carving. Her twin was similarly built. Their slender built gave them the agility and ease for sword fighting, almost like elves. The two were fast runners too; they were able to outrun from trouble at an early age.

Her brother came out of his bedroom head down, buttoning his long sleeved shirt, the same turquoise color material she was wearing. "Too bad you're not a boy." He looked up but quickly ducked down again as a wooden projectile came wheezing past his head; it came from the general direction of his sister. He arched his eyebrow, "Getting rusty with your aim?"

She stuck her tongue out at him, "It's these confounded sleeves! I've a good mind to cut them off!"

"NO!" Their father exclaimed in horror! "Shoshin worked hard on them!" Naming their local seamstress.

"She must be getting on her years! The size of the sleeves, you can fit a child in there!"

His father shook his head, trying not to laugh at his daughter.

ThoraLee shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I don't understand why we have to act as if we're a herd of sheep, ripe and ready for the great Prince Thorin's taking. Oh yes, he is eligible. He is seeking a bride, a future queen, blah, blah, blah…boring. If you ask me, this is a bunch of crock."

Her father was glaring at her, "Well, no one is asking you, young lady. It's a tradition."

"It's a disgusting tradition that should be done away. Why can't he find his wife in the old traditional way?"

"And what's that?" JoraLee asked her.

"Oh, like falling in love." She said angrily.

JoraLee began to laugh, "There's no such thing, Lee. Falling in love, huh!"

"Enough, Lee, you're giving me a giant headache! By Durin's tomb…" he muttered as he shook his head.

The twins grinned at each other as they muttered with their father, "…why me?"

Then her father looked up again and said, "You two will be the death of me!"

Lee smiled softly as she hugged her beloved father, "Father, please, you know you'll live a ripe old age of whatever ripe old age lives." She flapped her sleeve about. "Besides, don't you want to see Jora's children?"

She knew she played her trump card well when she saw his eyes lit up

But JoraLee's eyes were throwing daggers at her, "I don't think so, Lee! I'm too busy making sharp pointy darts…darts I'm about to throw them at you hoping it'll land on your stupid giant head!"

ThoraLee began to guffaw like a boy, "You'll only miss me, I'll catch them in these stupid giant sleeves!"

The twins began to laugh heartily at their silliness.

Their father shook his head, then suddenly he remembered something, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you two imps, your Uncle has a gift for each of you, so I guess you'll have to go to Erebor after all."

ThoraLee's eyes lit up; Crimm was the twins' father's oldest brother, and the twins' favorite relative. They loved to visit their uncle whenever they could which was not very often as he was the Royal Valet. But whenever their Uncle visited them, the twins was ecstatic as he always brought them candy and little jewelry trinkets. Candy was the favorite as candies were an unusual treat; it was given to him from the Royal family through their travels from outside of the Mountains.

Clasping her twin's hand eagerly, Lee said, "What are we waiting for then? Come along!" She gave their father a hug and a peck on his wrinkled cheek before pulling her brother away from the house.

Their ponies were waiting by the front of the house. It was a good long walk to Erebor, so taking their ponies would be a prudent and logical thing to do.

As they rode out, she saw that the others were ahead of them, all in a happy and anticipatory mood.

As their father watched them leave, he sat out on the porch and lit a pipe and looked up into the stars, "Emmerlina, I never thought this day would come, but we made it. Our children are grown and how beautiful they had become. You would have been so proud of them, Emmerlina, so proud of them…I just hope they behave, this one time. Please watch over them, my darling. That's all I ask of you." He took a puff of smoke and blew a big smoke ring that floated out into the skies.

…..

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 3

Coming Of Age – Chapter 2

The twins arrived at the Palace in Erebor well before the ceremony was to start. Stepping in with the others, they were shown to the Great Halls where the ceremony was held. It consisted mainly of King Thrain making a grand speech, about how important it was for all dwarves to come together to serve their Kingdom within their capacity. For the males, when the time comes, they were expected to take up arms to protect their King, and the land of Erebor and Dale. To the women, they were expected to wed and bear children, to carry on the line of their family. And carry on Dwarf line for many years to come.

Lee looked about her in the Halls and saw to her dismay that there were not many females compared to the males milling about and they were casting expectant looks at the single young females about them as well.

"Sheep in the market." She muttered with dismay. "I certainly have no wish to wed one of these foolish men about the Halls and birth one of their foolish children."

Jora stared at her, "Oh, I presumed you'd want to wed the great Prince himself." He teased her.

She elbowed him hard into his chest, "No Jor! You know I have no desire to wed at all! I want to have the grandest adventure!"

He rubbed at the sore part as he snorted at her, "The only grandest adventure you'll ever have is to the help father with his metal making, Lee."

She gave him a resigned look, "Jora, I wish you'd stop dashing my dreams."

They began to walk about them as they moved to an assigned area for them.

Soon three guards came forward to announce the arrival of the Royal family.

King Thrain and the two Princes came forth and sat down on the dais as the citizens of Dale bowed in reverence to receive them.

King Thrain nodded and began his usual and expected speech as Lee tuned him out as she stared in space.

She was not interested in marrying or bearing children. She wished she was a man where he had more freedom; she knew that if a male dwarf had no desire to wed, it was his choice to live a single life for the rest of his life.

He could come and go as he wished.

But no so much for a female. She was under her father's protection until she is of age. So, now Lee is no longer her father's responsibility.

She felt Jora nudging her, "Lee! Will you pay attention?"

She glanced over to her twin and nodded, "I am but it's so boring!"

Jora shook his head.

Luckily the speech came to an end and everyone began to make their way to the Dining Hall where a great feast was to be served.

JoraLee nudged his sister again after a while later, "Don't look to your left but your 'favorite gaggle of friends' are behind us." He used the quotation signs with his fingers, indicating that they were not their actual friends.

Of course she had to look. And regretted that she did as the group he mentioned was actually no friends of theirs. They were a group of dwarves that belonged to a wealthy family. They were a set of proud people and thought smithers and crafters were much beneath them.

"Oh great, Shia Cimbolli and posse." Her brother grinned at her.

Luckily for the twins, a guard came and summoned the twins to their Uncle's private quarters. The guard did a double take as he stared hard at them; it had always been that way for the twins; everybody had always stared at them because they were exactly alike; even their hair! It was as if one was looking at a mirror! The only thing that set them apart was their remarkable eyes; ThoraLee's one green eye was on her left and one amber eye on her right. JoraLee's one green eye was on his left and amber one was on his right. It was the only feature that set them apart.

As soon as they met their uncle, the twins eagerly hugged him; they had not seen him for quite some time.

"Uncle, it had been a long time since you last visited us," ThoraLee remonstrated her uncle teasingly.

He shook his head, "I know, and look how grown up and beautiful you've become. That is a very pretty dress. I am glad my brother had gotten you to dress up like a lady. You are too pretty to wear breeches and look like a boy, no offense Jora." He looked at his nephew.

JoraLee shook his head.

"Father sends his love and he said that you have something of us?" She tried to bat her eyes shyly at her uncle.

He watched her a bit before laughing indulgently, "You little minx! You know he didn't say that, you just want your present and are just too polite to say so, is that right?" Wagging his forefinger at her.

Hanging her head down in shame, she nodded.

"Greedy." JoraLee muttered.

ThoraLee shot him a look, her brother shrugged his shoulder.

Crimm stood up and went to his cabinet and opened it, and pulled something out. He grabbed two small bags out and turned to them.

He handed a dark blue bag to ThoraLee and a red one to JoraLee and said, "Happy Birthing year to the two of you."

ThoraLee opened the bag and reached in and pulled it out and exclaimed; it was a ring. Not just a ring, it was made of a heavy metal called Mithril, intricately carved. In the center of the ring lay a stone, a beautiful round gemstone cut and polished till it was flawless. It was greenish in color that matched the green in their one eye each of the twins.; a very unusual gemstone.

JoraLee's ring was the same but bigger, almost twice the size as hers. When they put it on their forefinger on their right hand, it fit perfectly.

"Oh, Uncle! This is beautiful…but what is it called?" ThoraLee exclaimed, tears of gratitude slipped from her eyes as she put her arms around her uncle and hugged him tightly.

Her uncle returned her embraced tightly, a bit of tears leaked out as well, "I'm glad you like it, Lee, my dear. It's a very rare gemstone, a green diamond, found deep in the Blue Mountains a while back. It broke in two, so I had it made into two rings for the two of you, the metal is called Mithril, it is a very rare metal. I hope you'll treasure it forever."

It was an understatement for a Dwarf to not appreciate fine gemstone. Especially such a rare diamond. JoraLee, who knew the rarity of such gemstone, would be the envy of Dale. He was glad the ring fitted so perfectly on his finger, he would hate to lose such a fine piece.

"Now, off you two go, enjoy your feast. I'm sure you're hungry. Go, go…" He made to shoo them off.

Hugging him once more, the twins left his chambers and headed back to the Halls where the second part of the ceremony had begun.

The handful of maidens were 'hustled' to one side of the Great Hall, Lee tried hard not to roll her eyes as she moved along with the others who were busy talking and giggling, in eager anticipation of meeting the great Prince up close, they began to constantly swish and flick their hair. No guessing there that their purpose were to try to catch the attention of Thorin. She caught a glimpse of the prince herself who stood by the King with proud air about himself. He had refused to look at any of them throughout the speech, as if it had bored him.

Lee was incensed; _what an ass._ _No, I take that back, a donkey had better manners than he!_ She had seen the look Thorin had his father was giving his speech. It was a very haughty expression and she thought it was too much for her to bear!

She had a good mind to give him a piece of her mind!

It was getting warm in the Hall, and the dress she had worn was quite uncomfortable as it was very high necked and she had worn a shift within the dress for fear that the dress was too thin; now it was too much! She wished she had stayed at her Uncle's chamber and removed her shift!

"ThoraLee, well imagine seeing you here." The young lady, Shia, greeted her.

Lee turned to greet her, "Shia, how nice to see you too. How are you?"

Shia smiled, "Oh, very well. Sold any little swords lately?" She giggled meanly as she turned to her friends who laughed.

Lee glared at them; growing up, Shia and her little clique of well-to-do friends had always showed her up with their wealth. Shia had never needed to work her entire life.

Lee had learned to ignore their petty jibes. "Plenty, Shia, plenty." She tried to move away from them but Shia and her friends had surrounded her, prevented her from escaping. Lee couldn't believe she was so bold as to try to bully her here in the Halls!

"That's a pretty dress you're wearing, I'm surprised your father was able to afford the material to make it." Shia said. Again, her friends giggled. She didn't like anyone looking better than her; her dress was pretty too but not as pretty as ThoraLee's. She added, "I bet it cost him a whole year's wages to afford the material." Her friends laughed more.

Of course it was not in our friend's nature to hold her tongue for long;

With a shrug, she muttered lightly, "If you'd loosen a few stones, you might fit into your dress better."

Shia's eyes bulged wide opened, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Her friends gasped in disbelief.

ThoraLee shrugged, "You heard me."

The next thing was something beyond anyone's guess.

It was at this moment when Thorin, Frerin, and a couple of Thorin's cousins, approaching them as was required of him acquaint himself with the young dwarves of Dale... So far, none made any impression. His cousins Balin and Dwalin were ogling at a few females and had kept nudging at Thorin's side much to his annoyance when they heard a commotion further down the hall. Thorin leaned forward, trying to see, his cousins did the same.

The few maidens had moved away from the commotion; they had not wanted anything to do with what was going on.

Soon the commotion grew louder.

"GET OFF ME, YOU FAT COW!" The male dwarves had gathered around the two main shouting females.

Thorin and Balin exchanged a surprised look and began to hurry down, the mingling forgotten. The maidens were in tears, as their expectations dashed; Thorin had totally ignored them!

"YOU ARE STEPPING ON MY DRESS YOU STICK WRENCH!"

There were more gasps around them.

"What is going on?" Thorin shouted as he tried to wade through the gathering crowd. As soon as they heard his voice, they quickly parted, until he reached the source of the commotion.

JoraLee who had heard the loud noise, and dreaded the source also quickly followed them. He knew as soon as he saw earlier Shia making a beeline for his sister that nothing good was coming out of it. As it turned out he was right on target.

As Thorin bent down to pick up a squirming body, Balin did likewise to the other person.

Thorin held Lee at bay despite the fact that she was still trying to push him to get to Shia. "Hold still, woman!" He tried to stop them.

Balin was having as much difficulty holding off Shia who was growling at Lee, "She called me FAT!"

Thorin turned his head slowly to look at Shia and tried hard to not laugh.

Balin shook his head as he was beginning to turn a shade of red; he too was trying hard not to laugh as well.

"All I said was if you lose a few stones. It could mean anything." Lee tried to sound rhetoric.

Thorin arched his eyebrow at her, finding her interesting, Balin caught his friend gaze.

"Which is just the same as calling me fat, wait till I tell my father. He's going to tell the others to stop buying those shoddy metals your father passes as swords!"

All Lee saw was red as her hand was balled into a fist and she reared back fast but her quick action caught Thorin in surprise as her sharp bony knuckles connected his eye in lightning flash as she swung forward and punched Shia on the side of her head, knocking her out cold.

Two things happened at the same time; the first was the crowd had fallen into complete silence and Shia crumpled to the floor immediately.

And of course, Lee's fist hurt as though she went a couple of round with an orc, that she believed she had broken some bones as it began to swell as she cradled it with her other hand.

It was then she realized that everyone was staring wide-eyed at her and it was as quiet as a tomb. She looked about her and paled when she saw what she had done.

Thorin had covered his one part of his face with one hand and she could see he was in great pain.

Frerin was holding his brother with concern, "Thorin, are you all right?" He looked from him to Lee.

"YOU!" Frerin shouted at her. "You just hit the Prince!"

A jointed loud gasped sounded out across the room as everyone began pointing at her.

Lee was shaking her head, "But…but it was a mistake! I didn't mean to hit him! I…he was standing too close." She tried to reason. In fact she tried to remember when she had hit him, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember.

By this time, JoraLee had joined her, standing beside her.

Thorin, who had been glaring at her, looked at JoraLee suddenly, shook his head, blinked his eye a couple of times began to mumble.

Frerin and Balin, looking at him oddly, "What did you say?"

Thorin muttered, "She must have hit me harder than I thought, I'm seeing double!"

The twins exchanged worried looks. By this time also, their uncle who had heard about the incident had come out and came behind them, "You two come with me, quick."

Startled, they let their uncle dragged them from the melee.

The crowd had dispersed by then. The guards had helped Shia up and her friends came to collect her and helped her to a table that was set up for the feast.

Thorin who was staring at Balin turned to look for Lee suddenly realized that they were gone, shook his head, "I think I need to lie down. She must have packed a good one on me." He was still holding his left face.

"Before you go to your chambers, go to the doctor; let him look at your face."

"I'm fine, Frerin." Thorin assure his brother even though his left eye began to throb."

Not convinced, Balin said, "Let me see where she hit you."

Reluctantly, Thorin lowered his hand slightly; he had turned away from other prying looks.

Balin's and Frerin's eyes widened as they exclaimed, "Good gracious, she really put a good one on you!"

Thorin's left eye was swollen shut, a shade of dark purple was beginning to develop.

Added Balin who was trying not to laugh, "You had better put something on it, or you're going to look very pretty tomorrow."

"Oh, stuff it both of you!" Thorin pushed at the two men and stomped away to his quarters.

….

"Crimm!" Thorin called for his valet from his quarters.

No answer.

"Crimm! Where the devil did you go?" He went in search in the halls and approached his valet quarters.

Slamming the doors opened, he entered the chambers in a foul mood, his swollen eye was really bothering him a lot now. It was throbbing painfully.

Looking around, he was shocked to see the very young female in Crimm's quarters!

"YOU!"

Lee was staring wide-eyed at him; she was holding something in front of her.

"What are you doing here? Do you know whose chambers you're in?"

ThoraLee nodded.

Thorin moved closer into the room as he stared angrily at her, the more she stayed silent, the angrier he became.

"Are you going to answer me? What are you doing here?" Then she moved slightly, trying to take a step from him. A glint sparked from the diamond ring caught Thorin's eye. He stared at it for a moment and recognized the piece of jewelry.

"That ring! I recognize that ring. Where did you get that ring?" Then he looked around the room and began to think and tried to make some sense and thought he figured it out which made angered him more.

He glared at her, "I figured you out now, you tried to use the ceremony to get in here. You're a thief and a burglar."

ThoraLee shook her head and tried to open her mouth to speak but Thorin shut her down.

"I'm not done yet, thief!" He yelled at her. "While everyone is feasting you use some kind of ruse and get into a fight, then while everyone was diverted you stole in here and burgled my valet's possession. The only thing I cannot figure it out is that how did you know he was in possession of that ring? Did you know he has another one identical to that?"

She nodded.

Thorin smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, "Of course, beautiful as you are, you must have used you feminine charms on an old man. How disgusting you are!" He spat it out.

It was then he saw her state of partial undress and began to sneer at her.

"I see, I was right about your unscrupulous behaviour. You use your body. You sold yourselves. For what, a few pieces of baubles. What? You can't find young men your age to cast your feminine wiles, you had to take advantages of older men who are twice your age? How low can you get?"

ThoraLee's eyes were big as saucers as she was shaking her head. Thorin had walked up close to her by then and grabbed the sheet from her and saw that she was wearing a thin white shift which was what she wore underneath her dress.

Thorin could see her full chest heaving up and down, the thin material thinly veiled the dusky areola of her nipples. She tried to cover them with her hands as her shame and anger slowly built within her.

Never had she been so insulted in her life. What he had said about her and her beloved uncle had disgusted her to the core. It shocked her that he could throw that kind of insults at her. It was obvious he didn't know of her relationship to Crimm. She was not about to correct that arrogant fool. Prince or not, he was an arrogant pig. Good luck to whoever ended up marrying him!

Something changed in Thorin's good eye as he continued to stare at her. He was mesmerized by the changes in hers. The swirling green in her left eye and amber in her right was drowning him as he leaned into her and before he realized what he was doing he kissed her.

ThoraLee was once again shocked! She had never been kissed by a man in her life. She didn't know what to do but he was scaring her to death! And instinctively and defensively she reacted the only way she knew by raising one knee quickly and it connected hard to his private parts between his legs.

Thorin feeling a burst of piercing sharp pain in his loins was rendered incapacitated. He was brought to his knees at once as he crouched in front of her, speechless. She pushed him off of her hard, so that as he landed on the bare floor, he hit the back of his head hard on the metal chest that belonged to Crimm's.

Thorin was knocked out cold.

Just as he fell, Crimm and JoraLee who had gone to the Royal Kitchen to fetch some poultice for ThoraLee's injured hand and to the seamstress came back just in time.

Crimm had taken her dress to be repaired; Shia had torn the dress during the scuffle. The tear was in the front of the bodice. Luckily she was wearing her shift and it covered her modesty.

JoraLee, who knew his way to the Kitchen where the doctor could be found imbibing some ale, was dispatched to get some soothing poultice.

When they returned to their uncle's quarters, they had just saw Thorin tumbled to the ground his hand clutching his groin.

"What on earth happened here?" Crimm looked from Thorin to his niece and back again before putting her dress aside and bent down to him.

ThoraLee quickly explained to them what had transpired.

JoraLee was laughing so hard by then he was holding his midsection.

Crimm was shaking his head, "What am I going to do with you, Thora?'

"Well, nothing, I should hope. I mean he attacked me…he put his disgusting lips on mine."

Crimm momentarily distracted by her explanations and realized what Thorin was trying to do, didn't know if he wanted to laugh or beat the Prince when he wakes up for trying to assault his niece. Then again; why did Thorin kissed ThoraLee?

"He was not attacking you, lass, he was kissing you," he explained.

"Kissing!" She practically shouted.

JoraLee was now laughing even louder.

ThoraLee bent down and picked up one of her uncle's shoe and flung it at her brother and it connected his head.

"Ow!" He was rubbing his right temple as he glared at her. "That really hurt!"

"Serve you right for laughing at me, moron."

"I'd better go fetch his brother…" Crimm said, shaking his head.

JoraLee moving to the door, away from her, "No, Uncle, let me. You had better stay here. There had to be a middle person for these two." He quickly turned and left the room.

As she buttoned the last button of her dress, she looked down and saw that the seamstress had done a very good job, you could barely see the tear. The thread was a perfect match to the color of the dress.

"Oooh…" There was a loud moan from the ground where Thorin was lying.

….

End of Chapter 2

Hoped you enjoy this chapter, please if you have the time, send a review here, it would be much appreciated, let me know how you feel about this story. I am up for opinions, suggestions, questions, anything!

Thank you.


	3. Chapter 4

Coming Of Age – Chapter 3

JoraLee made his way down to the Great Halls in search of Balin and Prince Frerin. He had watched those two earlier and figured that they were Thorin's so called right-hand men.

He spotted the two men dining with the other dwarves he couldn't identify.

As he approached them, Jora overheard them, "Dwalin, I'm telling you, I saw the looks on his face. Then again, that was before she socked him in the face." The rest of the dwarves guffawed hard as they raised their mugs of ale to their Prince.

"I hope she didn't damage his pretty face too badly." Another round of laughter sounded.

Then they noticed JoraLee's presence.

Balin squinted at JoraLee and almost squeaked, "Egads! She's a he! Or he is a she? I…I…who….what…Look here, who are you?" he pointed at Jora with his stubby fingers.

Jora bowed low and said, "Forgive me, Master Balin, my name is JoraLee. The young lady is my twin sister, ThoraLee. Um, I don't know how to put it but Prince Thorin is currently uh…indisposed…in, huh…in…my…"

"Oh, do spill it out, don't be afraid, laddie!" Dwalin insisted."

Jora nodded and took a deep breath, as he let it out, "Prince Thorin is unconscious in my Uncle Crimm's quarters."

Well, this got the attention of Frerin, Balin, Dwalin, as well as a few others as the head table was quiet.

Jora looked about him; suddenly conscious as so many pairs of eyes were upon him, "Well, he went looking for my uncle…" he began telling them what Lee told them.

In no time, the entire table was reduced to raucous guffaws and laughter and banging on the table tops. As Balin wiped the last of his tears, he stood up and looked at Dwalin, "Come on, let's go rescue our sad friend before this fine laddie's sister inflicts more pain on him. She might put him out of his misery before he could find a mate!" Then he turned to Frerin, "Frerin, you might be beholden to keep the line of Durin yet!" The two older Dwarf clapped JoraLee's shoulder as they pulled him away from the Halls.

As they made their way to the valet's chambers, Balin happened to spot JoraLee's sword; always having a fine eye for fine things, he couldn't help but kept looking at it.

Jora noticed Balin's constant glances were beginning to make him feel uncomfortable, finally he asked Balin.

Balin pointed at the sword and asked if he could look at it.

Embarrassed that such a skilled Dwarf such as Balin asked to see his simple-made sword, it was an honor for Jora to present it to him.

He handed the sword to him, added "This is actually crafted by my sister, a gift from her." He said shyly.

Balin and Dwalin stood by a candle light inspected the backsword and nodded and as they ran their callused but experienced thumbs over the blade, they admired the fine etchings on the metal as well.

Finally they handed the sword back to Jora and said, "This is a very fine work, indeed. Very fine work. Your sister is very skilled for one who is still so young. What about you, young man?"

JoraLee smile, "My work is similar as hers, only finer." He said proudly.

Balin and Dwalin exchanged looks. "Very well, we better get going."

As they neared the chambers, they could hear noises, loud unhappy shouting noises.

The three quickened their paces as they rushed in and saw a very bruised Thorin and a very angry ThoraLee in a shouting match, Crimm in the middle of them.

Lee was looking around her uncle to glare at Thorin, "You thought I was seducing my uncle! How could you say such a disgusting thing? Only an eel and a slime ball would say such lowly words like that!"

Her uncle tried to get a word in, "Really, Lee…he said he didn't mean…"

"You were here alone in his room dress like…like…that!" Thorin waved his hand at her, they had ignored Crimm's presence entirely as they carried on their argument, "AND I DIDN"T KNOW HE WAS YOUR UNCLE!"

"I HAD ON CLOTHES, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! YOU PERVERT!"

"YOU WERE IN YOUR UNDERCLOTHES, HOW WAS I TO KNOW?"

"THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO PAW AT ME!"

Jora and Balin exchanged looks and their eyes widened; apparently Lee didn't tell him that part. JoraLee didn't know about this part as his sister had omitted this part earlier.

Thorin replied, "FOR THE THIRD TIME I DIDN'T PAW AT YOU."

"YES YOU DID! YOU WERE OGLIN AT MY CHEST AND THEN YOU…YOU…KISS ME!" she blushed.

"AGAIN, I SAID I'M SORRY. I DIDN'T MEAN TO KISS YOU. I THOUGHT YOU WERE A HA…" he clammed up.

ThoraLee stared at him, "I WHAT?"

"NOTHING." He looked down on the floor.

"IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY TO ME, SAY IT YOU SCUM!"

Insulted, he snapped his head up and yelled, "A HARLOT!"

The rest of the men gasped a loud. "Thorin!" Crimm gasped as he held his chest.

Thorin glance at his valet and was immediately guilty, "My apologies, Crimm. I said I was sorry. I didn't know…"

Before he knew it, ThoraLee flew at him and began hitting him again, "You fink! You low down scum of scums!" She hit him again and again as if her life depended on it.

Balin, Dwalin and JoraLee hurriedly grabbed a hold of her and pulled her away from Thorin who was covering his face, protecting his already bruised face.

"Keep that crazy wrench off me!" Thorin was yelling. As soon as he realized he was not longer being pelted by angry fist, he stood up and angrily said to her, as she was being held by her brother and his friends, "You are lucky I don't hit women." Leaning closer to her, "I came this close," he showed her his thumb and forefinger pressed together. "This close to changing my mind, starting with you." Straightening he said to Dwalin and Balin, "Take her to the dungeons. Let her spend a night there."

Balin and Dwalin gasped, "No! Thorin! We do not treat our women like that."

"What woman?" He said to them angrily. "I don't see any woman here. Just an annoying gnat."

"GNAT! QUIT CALLING ME NAMES, YOU, YOU SLIME SCUM!" She yelled at him.

Thorin looked at Balin, "See, all I heard was an annoying gnat buzzing around."

"ANNOYING? I JUST POUNDED YOU TO THE GROUND, YOU SCUM!" She was squirming to free from JoraLee and Dwalin.

"Come on Balin, take her to the dungeons. Are you disobeying me?" He glared at his friend. "Very well…Guards!" He yelled out loud. A pair of royal guards came in. "Take this woman to the dungeons."

"Wait!" Jora shouted.

Balin shook his head sadly; the Prince had given an order.

"I will take her place."

Thorin looked at him and blinked his eye, shook his head again. He stepped close to Jora and then looked at him, then at Lee, then at him again, and groaned, "Oh my gods, by Durin's tomb, there's two of you...wait. There are two of you?"

Crimm nodded his head, "Thorin, this is JoraLee he is ThoraLee's identical twin."

Thorin shook his head, "Twins. Double the trouble. I hope he does not give anyone as much trouble as that one does. I've just had enough of them."

Balin said sadly, "Thorin please reconsider."

"No." Looking at the guards. "What are you waiting for?"

The guards nodded but hesitated as they stood before Lee and Jora.

Again, JoraLee tried to plead for her but her pride prevented her brother from doing so. "Don't, Jora. I will go. I hit him; I will accept my punishment willingly." glaring at the prince. "However unfair the punishment is, I will take it like a man." She turned to the guards and guards and said, "Let's go gentlemen." She placed an extra emphasis on the last word to the guards. The guards tried not to shake their heads as they led her away.

"Damn her eyes!" Thorin muttered.

"And a pair of very fine eyes she has, I might add." Dwalin tease his cousin.

Thorin turned to glare at him.

His cousin shook his head and laughed.

Jora spoke, "Your Highness, how long will you be holding my sister?"

Thorin looked at the young man and replied, "Until she apologizes to me."

"Apologizes to you?" JoraLee said.

Thorin nodded.

Jora couldn't help but began to laugh.

Thorin frowned, "What? What are you laughing?" Somehow he didn't think he was going to like the answer.

Jora shook his head, "Well, your Highness, I think my sister is going to be in the dungeons for a very long time. She does not apologize easily, especially when she is not in the wrong."

"Well, I guess you'll be a single twin from now onwards. Enjoy the night, young man." He nodded to Jora and left the chamber.

Jora wanted to chase after the prince but Balin and Dwalin held him. "Hold it, young man. I know what you're going to say. Don't worry; we'll try to get your sister out of the dungeons soon. I know she will spend a night or two, but I'll make sure she will not be mistreated." Balin promised.

JoraLee nodded; he trusted the older Dwarf.

Balin continued, "Where do you live, young man?" JoraLee quickly told him the address. Balin nodded; he knew who his father was.

"Be expecting us tomorrow. Oh, and we'd like to see some of your works as well."

JoraLee nodded as he bowed to them before he bade his uncle a good night and left.

Crimm nodded his head to Balin, "What do you have in mind with my nephew, Master Balin?"

Balin shrugged and smiled, "That young man has some potential in smithing but he needs an extra hand in honing his skills further. If his father doesn't mind, I know of someone from the Misty Mountains that might advance his learning. His work is in the apprentice level now but with the proper teacher, he will be a teacher himself in ten..oh, twenty years' time. What do you think, Master Crimm?"

Crimm smiled, "I thank you, Master Balin for taking an interest in my nephew. He does need a good teacher. My brother is getting on in his years. What about the girl?"

Balin shrugged. "She is too skill for anyone to teach. And I don't know who can advance her learnings. I'd have to look into it more, if she wants to. But most women are much more interested in getting married and having babies, so I'm not sure if we should put so much interest and time in advancing her. "

Crimm shook his head, "You don't know my niece, her head is in her crafting, she showed no interest in becoming anyone's wife. My brother had to practically drag her to this ceremony."

"Oh? How interesting. Most unusual young woman."

"Aye, you have no idea, ThoraLee is like no other. But living in a house with her father and twin brother, most times she thinks and dresses like a man, so many times I cannot tell them apart save for their eyes."

Balin nodded, "Well, in a few years, you'll soon be able to tell them apart easily when JoraLee begins to grow his Manbeard."

Crimm stroked his own trimmed one and nodded, "Aye, so it will be, so it will be."

Dwalin then added, "Now, you do know Thorin will not forgive your niece so easily, not after she hit him in front of everyone. By now, word will have spread over Dale about Thorin and you niece."

Crimm said, "I'm afraid you're right, Master Dwalin." He sighed.

Dwalin continued, "I might have as solution."

The other two dwarves looked at him.

"Enlists the help of the King."

"The King! How? May I ask?" Balin asked his friend.

"Let me ask you Balin, my astute brother, did you notice the way Thorin looked at the fair and fiery ThoraLee?"

Balin nodded thoughtfully as he tried to recollect the events of the events; so much had happened.

"It was when the maidens were arguing, and ThoraLee called the other maiden fat…well, not actual words." Dwalin chuckled.

Balin began to nod as he recalled he events as well.

Crimm said, "My niece called someone fat?"

"Well not exactly…" he tried to tell him the events leading up to how Thorin ended with a shiner.

"Oh my lord, I'm done for. It's a wonder I still have employment here." He put his head in his hands. "I probably might as well start packing…over 100 years…I've served the Durin family."

Dwalin leaned over and patted the elderly valet's back, "There, there, no worries old friend. We may save your job as well too"

"Anyways, back to the plan; if we put the seed to the King's ear. The King might have some idea of match making in the making. Especially when he's hungering for those grandchildren of his. What do you think, Balin?"

Balin clapped his hands, "Oh! I do think it is a marvelous idea, brother. I don't know about you, but I do think Thorin had finally met his match in ThoraLee. I do like that young lady already. She is not like those weak namby-pamby fawning maidens the King kept throwing in Thorin's path."

Crimm chuckled, "I just remembered; I told Thorin this morning that he's going to meet someone this morning who's going to knock him over. I didn't think it's going to be ThoraLee or that she'll literally knock him!"

All three dwarves began to laugh heartily.

Then Dwalin and Balin stood up and bade the older dwarf a good night and left the chambers, leaving the old valet to worry about his future the rest of the night.

….

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 5

Coming Of Age – Chapter 4

As JoraLee led both ponies home, he kept telling himself that everything would be all right.

The two Dwarves had assured him that ThoraLee would be fine. That she would be looked after…in the dungeons!

Now, as he took a deep breath as their home was in sight, he wondered how he was to explain to their father why he came home without his sister.

Damn it, Lee! Thanks for putting me in this position! He scowled in front at the poor innocent ponies.

Taking the ponies to the stable behind their home, he put them in their stalls and after combing them and feeding and watering them, he slowly made his way into the back door.

"Jora, is that you?" His father called from the bedroom. It was late and the elderly dwarf had retired to his bed but he had stayed up to wait for his children.

"Aye, father, tis I."

"Where is your sister? Did you two have fun? Did you two behave?" Erimm frowned; it was too quiet when Jora came home, Lee was a very noisy and boisterous child.

Jora stepped into his father's room and sat on the edge of the bed, and told him all that had happened, he did omit the kissing part. The old man didn't need to hear that.

Instead of getting mad, Erimm began to laugh and laugh until tears fell from his wrinkled face.

"Um, father? Are you okay?" Jora was becoming concerned; this was not an expected reaction from his father.

Erimm held up his hand, "I'm fine, my son. And I'm sorry to startle you. But honestly coming from your madcap of a sister, this whole thing does not surprise me anymore."

Relief that his father was not going crazy, Jora at last permitted himself to smile.

"You should have been there father, she really lay a good one on that Shia Cimbolli, knocked her out completely."

Erimm grinned, "Yes, indeed. I think her father will be paying us a visit this morning, I wager."

"Oh, I'm sure he will. Oh, speaking of visit, I almost forgot…" He then told him about Balin's and Dwalin's proposed visit to their house.

Erimm's eyes bulged opened, "Oh my, two great master of metal crafters, gracing us with their presence. That is very fortunate, very fortunate indeed. Let's hope Curian Cimbolli saw these two and change his mind about paying a visit to us."

JoraLee smiled, "That would be great and it will teach him that he is not the only important Dwarf around Dale anymore."

Erimm nodded, "Indeed my son. Go, it's time for bed. We have much to do in the morning to ready your swords. Hopefully he'll give you a couple of commissions to do."

Jora leaned over to hug his father before he stood up, "Goodnight father, sleep well."

…..

Back in Erebor, specifically in the dungeons, the guards led ThoraLee to the most comfortable cell they could find.

Lee was actually frightened to death; she had heard of the most horrific stories of prison stay and that the prisoners were torture mercilessly and now, she was dreading the torture part. Lee tried not to show her fear as she followed the guards to what she thought was the torture room.

"Here you go, little lady, we will light a fire in the fireplace across from you, that will keep you warm. It gets cold and drafty here." The first guard, Hilliem, said gently.

The second guard, Atum, "If you don't mind, we have not dined yet and you're more than welcome to join us. It's a simple fare of bread and cheese and cold cuts. Oh, cook left us some apple pie for dessert, plenty of food to go around."

Hilliem nodded as he left to fetch the food.

"Wait!" Lee stopped them. They turned around to look at her inquiringly. "You mean you are not going to torture me? All night?"

They stared at her in horror, "Goodness no, little lady! We are not barbarians!" Atum shook his head.

"But the stories…you torture your prisoners…"

The two men shook their heads as they laughed, "Gaw no. That's for the enemies anyways. And you're not our enemies." He grinned toothily at her.

Relief was written all over her as she smiled widely at the two friendly guards and settled at the table across from them.

As they brought the food on the table, her stomach began to gurgle loudly. She blushed when the men laughed at her and offered her a plate and a mug of beer.

It was a jovial dinner for the three of them; she learned that the two were married happily with four children. They began to tell her about the antics of their kids and how their wives had a difficult time keeping up with the children. All through the evening, she was laughing hard as she ate and drank.

Then they asked her about her family and home and what she did. And then the big question; what she did that earned the anger of the prince.

She shrugged and told them the whole event starting with the rivalry with Shia Cimbolli and the subsequent fight in the Halls.

"Wait, you fought in the Halls?" They stared at her admiringly.

She nodded as she drained her beer, the men filled her mug. "She insulted my father. No one does that and gets away with it, especially that 20 stone fat frump."

Upon hearing those words, the two guards broke out into more laughter; "Gaw! Fat frump! That is precious!" They were holding onto each other trying to keep from tipping over the bench they were sitting on.

"Then what?" as soon as they sobered from their laughing spree.

"I hit her…well, here's the thing, if I get this right, I was making to swing at her and as I was about to do so, I must have hit Prince Thorin just as I hit Shia. I mean when I looked at him, he was covering part of his face. Last I saw was it was his left eye was swollen shut."

The two men were quiet.

Lee had expected them to laugh more, "What?"

"No one ever hits the Prince and not paid for it."

"So that's why I'm down here."

They nodded solemnly.

"But like I told him earlier, I didn't do it on purpose, he was standing too close. So, it's not my fault he was hit."

Atum shook his head, "It doesn't matter, you struck a Royal personage. It's a crime."

"What's the punishment?" She almost whispered.

They shook their heads, "We don't know. It's been a long time anyone's been sent down here. I expect you'll know in the morning when you're summoned."

Lee nodded, "I guess so. I guess I'll either spend the rest of life in here or banished from Erebor."

"You should get some rest. It'll be a difficult day tomorrow morning. Goodnight, little lady."

They nodded as they stood up and began to clear the dishes. Lee helped them as well but they waved her away. She slowly made her way into the musky cell and looking around, saw that there was a straw bed with a thin cover for a blanket. She sighed as she crawled over it and covered herself with it. The fireplace the kindly guards had made helped keep her warm through the night. She noted that they did not lock the cell door; they knew it was pointless as she was not going to run away.

She knew she had drunk too much beer that when she lay down, her head was beginning to spin. Not normally a drinker, unlike her father and brother, she grinned happily as the cell began to spin and then tilted at an odd angle. The guards were fast asleep in their rooms away from the cells so they couldn't hear her giggling as she waved her hands above her head.

Then she closed her eyes which made the room spinned even faster, her head moved around and around and then suddenly she saw him…or she thought she saw him. Thorin! He was standing over her telling her that he was going to cut her head off and sent it to her father! And he was laughing evilly until she socked him in his eye again and again, calling him a scum while she was headless. Shia Cimbolli was standing holding Thorin's hand and laughing at her, calling Lee a fat cow. Suddenly, Lee saw that she had ballooned to Shia's proportion. Thorin began laughing as well, calling her fat cow too.

Lee woke up with a start, than she groaned out loud; her head was pounding, she felt as if she went ten rounds with an orc and lost badly.

Lying back down gingerly this time, she tried to go back to sleep and it was a long time before she did. When she woke the next morning, the headache didn't go away instead it had gotten worse. She felt as she couldn't move a muscle out of bed.

….

Thorin groaned out loud as he lie in bed as the morning sun shone into his room through the double window.

He had one of the worst nights and he didn't even drink the night before!

That was a first since the first time he took a drink and got roaring drunk and thought he was going to die. And the next morning he had one of the worst head sore in the history of his young life.

And you'd thought he learned a lesson about heavy drinking but he didn't as the next week he repeated the fool hardiness.

That was more than twenty years ago. He never had any more drunken head sores until this morning, or what felt like it.

His head felt as if a warg was dancing on his head.

At the moment his face was still swollen and in pain; Crimm had come into his room in the middle of the night and applied a soothing poultice on his face and covered it lightly with a thin linen cloth without smothering him, and he had given him a glass of something vile and bitter that enable him to sleep better.

His dreams were riddled with one particularly annoying woman. That young ThoraLee or whatever her name was! He grunted in annoyance but winced in pain as his cheeks hurt when he tried to twitch it.

"Confounded female," he muttered in his sleep. "Damn her eyes!"

But he had to admit to himself that her eyes were something else, one green and the other amber. Never had he seen such a mixture, and full of fiery fury as well.

He frowned and paid for it when he felt sharp pain lined above his brow.

Just how badly did she inflict on him? He wondered.

"Good morning, brother!" It was Frerin.

"Go away, Frerin." Thorin groused. "You sounded too cheerful."

He felt someone lifted the linen cloth from his face, then it was quickly replaced again.

"God! Thorin, I'd think you should stay indoors for a week…a month. That face will scare everyone in Erebor."

"When I want your advice, I'll ask for it. Right this moment, I don't. So I'll say it again, go away."

"Can't."

"Why not. All you have to do is just walk through that door and disappear, preferably forever." He waved at the direction of the door.

"I would if I could. Father sent for you." Frerin stated simply.

Thorin sat straight upright fast, the linen cloth slipped off his face; His face was now a rainbow color of yellow, red, and purple patches. He was a real sight.

Frerin was trying his best to hold it in.

"Laugh and I'll give you matching bruises." Thorin threatened him.

Frerin shook his head, "I'm trying brother, I'm trying. But I have to say, if I want a good beating, I'd rather Miss ThoraLee give it to me any day. She really knows how to redecorate your pretty face."

Thorin made to lunge at his brother but Crimm had arrived at this point.

"Ah good, you're up. Your father has summoned you to the Halls."

Thorin nodded, "I'm on my way, Crimm."

"As am I. I certainly am not missing this."

Thorin glared at him, "Something you're not telling me?"

Frerin shook his head, "You'll find out soon enough. And if I were you, I wouldn't stand so close to him."

"What's that suppose to mean."

"You'll see."

They had reached the Halls by then.

They bowed at their father showing respect for the King.

King Thrain, who was reading the morning report, nodded and then looked up to greet his sons in return when the greeting stopped short in his lips as he stared hard at his oldest child.

Thorin tried his best to not look down at his feet, covering his face from his father.

"Dear me, so it's true." Thrain looked over to where Balin and Dwalin were standing, they nodded discreetly.

The great man himself looked down suddenly and his body began to shake. Everyone looked at him with concerned. They thought he had taken ill or something worse.

But to their relief and Thorin's embarrassment, the King was actually laughing.

Thorin frowned, or tried to, "Father? Are you all right?" He asked anyways, might as well face the music and get it over with.

The king held one hand out, indicating for Thorin to give him a moment to get his composure back again. But he nodded to let him know he was fine.

When he looked up, his face was still flushed, a small smile still visible. "Thorin, I was told there was an incident last evening during the ceremony."

"Aye, father."

"And…because of the events, you have imprisoned an innocent maiden. Is that true?"

"No…I…That's not it…she hit me…I…mean well, she is not really innocent. She is a maiden, I guess."

"You guess?" the King stared at him, "You know we have not imprisoned anyone for a very long time much less a female. What will I tell her father?"

Thorin shrugged, "She shouldn't hit anyone. She has a temper that someone needs to control her."

"And you took it upon yourself to do so?"

"No! I do not presume to do so." Thorin shook his head. His brother was grinning like a fool.

"You gave an order. She must apologize to you before she is to be released, is that true?"

Thorin nodded; coming from his father, it now sounded childish and foolish.

Thrain turned to his Royal guards, "Please sent for the young lady currently in the dungeons."

They nodded immediately and departed.

Twenty minutes passed before the guards came back …without Lee.

The guards looked fearfully at the King, "Your majesty, uh, the girl refused to grace her presence."

Thrain frowned as he leaned forward, "What? She defied my orders?"

Thorin shook his head and smiled; how bold she was to refuse to meet with his father; no one had ever dared to defy him, not even Thorin himself.

"Did she give any reason?" He was not pleased; no one had ever dared to defy his orders.

"Yes, my King. She said that she is innocent and she refused to apologize to the s…sc….scum. So she'd rather remain in the dungeons." The guards blushed furiously.

Balin and Dwalin groaned out loud; they couldn't believe the stubbornness of that child! She was really playing with her life this time.

The King was confused, "Who is this scum she was referring to?"

Thorin shook his head, "Me, father. She called me a scum last night several times."

"Oh, and why?"

"Because I called her a harlot."

Everyone gasped except for Frerin who was guffawing hard."

Thrain stared hard at his son, "Thorin, I think you owe me an explanation, and then I suspect, an apology to the young lady."

"Yes father." He then proceed to fill his father last evening's event, omitting the kiss, he felt his father did not need to know that particular detail.

When he was satisfied with the story, Thrain turned to Balin and Dwalin and said, "Gentlemen if you two would be so kind as to escort Ms ThoraLee up here, please."

The two dwarves nodded and left together, grinning happily.

"Now my son, you mentioned a penance for her. I have a suggestion."

"Yes, sir?"

"I am told she can read and write Ancient Runes perfectly. And you have not the time to do so?

"Father, I have been busy at the Forge, if you'll recall I am in the middle of casting the mold for the blade. I can't do five things at one time."

"That is why I think we have found someone who can read and translate the text script."

"You have?"

"Well, she has not agreed to it yet."

"She?"

"Your little prisoner."

"Oh no…not her, father. Anyone but her."

"Why not?"

"Well, she's rude, obnoxious and..and…stubborn..and rude.."

"You said that already but that's not good enough reason. Son, you said so yourself you don't have time to work on the script and time is moving fast, I'm getting old…"

"You're not old, father. Just wiser."

Thrain shook his head, "Nonetheless, you'll work with her." He insisted.

Thorin thought for a while and shook his head, "We can't work together, sir."

"Why not?"

"Because she has a bad temper and so do I, and we'll probably end up killing each other." He stated simply.

Thrain stared at his son who was looking serious.

"Just give it a try. It is an order."

"But I thought you just said it was a suggestion?"

Thrain glared at his son and said angrily, "Well, I changed it to an order now."

"That's not fair, father, and you know it." Thorin continued to argue. "She is a very unreasonable female. And...and...very stubborn."

"So you've mentioned it before. The script text is important." He held up his hand, indicating that the conversation is over.

Frustrated at his father's meddling, he nodded angrily.

"Oh, Thorin," his father added. "If I learned that one piece of hair is out of place from her head, I'll personally hold you responsible. Is that clear?"

Thorin glared at his father and then nodded. Since when did he become so concern over that…that…crazy female?

They turned towards the stairs from the direction where the dungeons were, the sounds were getting loud and angry.

"He is proud and obnoxious, that's why no one wants to marry that scum in the first place." They heard her angry pronouncement.

Thorin tried to hold his temper in check, telling himself that she was a female, that they don't hit females. He was facing a losing battle. Ha! And his father wanted him to work with her? He could move to another country!

"Really ThoraLee, if you get to know the real Thorin, you'll find that he is a fine man. You'll even like him, everyone does." Balin tried to placate her.

Lee harrumphed but held her tongue as they approached the King. As she stood before him, she bowed low but almost groaned out loud; her headache was still there, still pounding hard into her head.

Thrain looked closely at her, and saw that she was very pretty and thought she'd make a good wife for his son… if they could keep their tempers in check, they might find that they have much more in common than not.

"So, you are Ms ThoraLee. Your father is Erimm, I'm told. A crafter."

She nodded her head slowly.

"I will make this quick, my son informed me that there were a couple of incidents happened last evening and that it led to you being locked up by mistake…"

"Mistake?" ThoraLee interrupted the King. "Your Majesty, your son sent me to the dungeons all because I hit him accidentally. Now I ask you, if you stood close to me and I took a swing to hit someone else, and you were hit as well, I most certainly am not responsible for your injury, aren't I, sir? It's called collateral damage. Not responsible." She put her arms across her chest and held her head high despite the fact her head was throbbing painfully.

Thrain, Balin and Dwalin saw her logic and reason and began to nod in agreement; she had a point and she was in the right, Thorin…locking her up was in the wrong.

Thorin couldn't believe they were agreeing with her, a mere slip of a female

"Oh no, I cannot believe you are agreeing with a bunch of ridiculous reasons. She is nuts. Look at my face! She hit me! She should be punished."

"An accident." She reiterated again.

"Deliberate." He glared at her.

"Was not."

"Was so, gnat." He had moved to stand close in front of her, practically nose to nose. Everyone was watching them with vast interest. Even the King.

"You scum, it was an accident and you know it."

"You keep saying that. That I was standing too close. I was not." Thorin argued back.

"You can't bare that a female hit you and you can't do anything about it." She poked him on his shoulder.

He poked her back on her shoulder hard, "Like I said last night, I don't hit girls but keep doing it and I just might, starting with you. And by the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to sit down for a week."

She poked him back, "Why did you kiss me last night?" She didn't know why she asked him that, it just came out of the blue.

Thrain's eyes shot up; he was not aware of that very interesting fact, he couldn't wait to tell his wife.

Thorin frowned, "Because…because…well…I thought…you know what I thought you were."

"I'm what? That I was a harlot?"

"Yes…well, you seemed to be obsessed with that kiss, aren't you?" He sneered. By this time, they had forgotten that they had an audience.

Lee arched an eyebrow at him and laughed, "Please, don't think too highly of yourself, you called that a kiss? I didn't know it was a kiss?" She whipped her head away from him, ignoring him.

Incensed at her arrogant attitude, Thorin was seeing red and decided to teach her a lesson, "Making fun of my kisses, aren't you? Not impressed with it, well I'll give you one that you'll never forget!" He spun her around to face him and grabbed her to him and kissed her soundly. In front of the whole court who were wide-eyed and in total shock, even the King, as his mouth was wide opened. For once Frerin was speechless.

After a moment Thorin pushed her away and grinned, "Now how's that for a kiss? I bet you won't forget this one for a long time!"

Lee was in shock as she stared at him; the gall of the man, this was the second time he'd kissed her without her permission.

And her response? She reared her hand back and punched his nose and heard a loud crunch!

"OH FRIG!" Thorin was yelling as he held his nose, "SHE BROKE MY BLOODY NOSE!"

"WELL! YOU SHOULDN"T KISS ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!" She yelled back at him.

"ENOUGH!" The King shouted finally, ending the bickering couple.

""He started it first!" Lee pointed at Thorin.

"She started it first" Thorin pointed at her. They both had said at the same time.

"Stop! Both of you, just stop. I am getting a head sore, no thanks to the both of you."

He looked at Balin and Dwalin and said, "Were they like that last night?"

"Worse!" the two said together.

"My goodness. How is it possible for the two of you to work together if you two argue so easily at the drop of the hat? No…don't answer. I don't want you two to answer. You'll turn it into an argument for sure." The King was rubbing his head.

"Thorin," Thrain said after a moment's silence in the hall. "I do believe you have something to say to Ms ThoraLee?"

Thorin who was still holding his nose, a little blood trickling through his fingers, "I'm hardly in a fit position to do so at the moment, forgive me, father." He turned around and left the Halls.

Thrain stepped down from his throne and said to Lee holding out his arm, "Take a walk with me, child." Lee nodded as she wrapped her arm around his elbow, just like she did to her father as they took their walks in the woods.

He took them to the corridors of the Halls, his men and guards trailing discreetly behind them.

Thrain looked at Lee and said, "My dear, I am sorry for my son's boorish behaviour, he shouldn't have behaved the way he did. Please forgive him."

ThoraLee shook her head, "Your Majesty, it's not your fault he's like that. I am responsible as well. I admit I provoked him as much but I don't know what came over me, I'm not usually like this…I'm sorry, your Majesty." She bowed her head.

"Would you consider something for me, my dear?" Thrain asked.

Lee looked up, "Anything Sire."

He smiled a little, "A favor…but it will require working with my son."

With a start, she looked at him, "The P...Pr…Prince?"

"Aye, my dear, Thorin, I know you don't like him but hear me out. I have a text script that was written in the ancient Cirth Rune. Unfortunately I didn't take any lessons when I was a wee lad so I can't make heads or tails of the text. It tells of a legend of a gemstone, a very rare gemstone called the Arkenstone."

"Arkenstone?" Her interest was perked.

Thrain nodded, "Aye. The legend tells of our ancestors crafting the Arkenstone thousands of years ago, it is the size as big as a dragon's egg." ThoraLee's eyes were wide opened.

"It's the most brilliant of brilliant white diamond ever made. It's buried somewhere in the Blue Mountains, we don't know how deep. But the script text tells us of the location of the Arkenstone. ThoraLee," he paused for a moment. "The Arkenstone is an heirloom belonging to the Durin family."

"Your Majesty, it's seems like it's very important that we recover this Arkenstone and restore it to your family. And I take it you want me to translate the script text for you?"

Thrain smile at her, "Yes my dear, someone told me of your skill. We have been searching for someone who is able to do so, and of course you'll be compensated handsomely."

Lee shook her head, "No thank you, your Majesty. I offer you my service to you for free. I don't mind doing it. It would be a pleasure, in fact to do so."

He stopped walking and turned to her, "My dear, I cannot do so! Name a price. Surely there is something you desire that I can pay you?"

Again, she shook her head, "No, sir. I don't mind. I enjoy reading and translating ancient works and I don't have such works at home to do it. You have asked me to work on something so important, it is an honor to do so. Your Majesty, I want to do it freely. Seriously, are we going to stand here and argue about this?"

Thrain chuckled, "Are you?"

She shrugged, "I have been known to be stubborn and argumentative."

"I know, I have seen it in person." He shook his head as he chuckled.

ThoraLee blushed.

"Very well however I insist on something to reward you for your service but I'll think about it first and you are not to refuse me, you hear?" He tried to look stern.

Lee nodded fearfully; he was a king after all.

"Very well, I'll have Masters Balin and Dwalin escort you home, we'll talk more about it as soon as my son recovers from his…er…injuries."

Lee and the King parted ways as Balin and Dwalin came to take her home.

…

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 6

Coming Of Age – Chapter 5

Erimm and JoraLee were up early at the crack of dawn. They were busy assembling their piece they think would impress Balin and Dwalin. They ended up choosing ten sets of swords as well as five shields.

JoraLee fired up the forge and decided to work on a piece of jewelry he was making, a surprise for his sister he didn't get to finish yesterday.

The sudden banging on the door told them that it was not their fine visitors but a couple of very upset ones.

"Erimm! I know you're in there! Open the door!" It was followed by more banging.

Erimm hurriedly opened it for fear the heavy-set man that rushed in would break the wooden panel.

"Greetings, Curian and I see your older boy Crudd, how do you do this fine morning?"

The Cimbollis were a family of heavies. each of them weighing at least 200 to 300 stones. As the patriarch of the family Curian was the heaviest. Wheezing into Erimm's living room, he sat down and breathed hard, and pointed rudely at Erimm, "Your daughter, where is she?"

Erimm shook his head, "I don't know. She must be out and about. You know these young people; they like to go out early in the morning for long walks."

Curian banged hard on the table causing the items to topple over but he didn't care, "Did you know what she did to my Shia? Did you?" He yelled at Erimm. "She hit my daughter!"

"Oh? Well, Um, I'm sorry but you know…children, they get into fights all the time…"

"At the Coming of Age ceremony! Erimm! No one fights at the Halls in Erebor!"

"Well, I'm sure it's not the first time."

"When I complain about this to the King, it will be the last time. Erimm. Now, where is your daughter?"

Standing straighter, Erimm shook his head, "ThoraLee is not here."

"Then I shall wait till she returns." Then he sat back to wait. His seat creaking strenuously against the weight. Erimm arched an eyebrow, hoping against hope the chair would hold; it was a set you know, the table and four chairs.

Dwarves were known for their hospitalities but in this instance, Erimm didn't feel too hospitable. He sat down and lit his pipe keeping busy with his own thoughts. Curian's son began to move about the house and looked about him, moving the decorations and deliberately dropping them on the floor, breaking many glasses and crockeries. Erimm tried not to react to the young man's boorish behaviour. He figured he'd get his due when the time come and those items were replaceable.

An hour had passed before Erimm heard what he hoped was his guests' arrival.

"Father! I'm home!" He heard ThoraLee's voice.

"Ah! She's home, now it's payback time." Curian was rubbing his chubby hands together.

When she opened the door, Crudd struck her immediately knocking her back outside. Erimm, not expecting the young man to strike his daughter rushed out of his chair and ran for ThoraLee.

But Balin was already by her side and Dwalin had rushed to restrain Crudd. "You will pay for this, young man."

Despite Crude's size, he was no match for Dwalin.

"Oh! Let go of my son!" Curian was yelling at Dwalin.

"This is your son?"

"Yes, it is. He has done nothing wrong, let him go." Curian tried to look fierce but ended up looking like a flopping fish out of water.

"Wrong? Nothing wrong? He struck a girl! You bigot."

"Oh! What did you call me? Do you know who I am? I am the richest merchant here in Dale. I will make sure no one will do business with you once I mention your name."

Dwalin leaned close to him, "Is that how you do your business? Threatening other folks?"

"Business is business. It's none of your business how I do mine, so if you leave now and mind your own, I'll forget I met you."

At this moment JoraLee came out of the house and seeing the commotion and her sister lying on the ground approached Balin.

"Master Balin, What's going?" JoraLee bent down to check on his sister; Crudd had hit her on her left cheek and it was swelling and turning her cheek a deep red.

"That young man just hit your sister, do you know him?" Balin pointed to Crudd with his chin, he was still cradling ThoraLee.

JoraLee nodded, "He's Shia's older brother."

"Who?"

"That girl she hit last night at the ceremony."

"Oh…Oh!" Balin suddenly saw the connection. "Still it doesn't give him the right to hit her. We have rule here in the Kingdom. Men do not hit women."

JoraLee nodded as he smoothed his still unconscious sister.

"Let's take her to her room and bed, how about showing me where it is?"

JoraLee nodded and stood up with him, Balin carried ThoraLee and they walked into the house and into her bedroom.

Placing her gently on her bed Balin also said, "We'll need something for the swelling, young man."

JoraLee nodded and left the room. Five minutes later, he came back with a salve and applied on her skin and covered it with a warm cloth.

"This should keep the swelling down," JoraLee explained. "Father keeps a supply of it. Um, Thora and I get into scraps now and then, so…eh…it works well." JoraLee blushed slightly.

Balin saw him flushed but didn't say anything. When he was young, he had his fair share of scraps himself; Thorin was a horrible friend, always getting him in trouble...ah, those were the days…

"We should leave her be. I think she will be out for a while." Balin said.

JoraLee nodded and the two left the bedroom. As they entered the living room, they saw the damage Crudd had done earlier. The broken glasses.

JoraLee exclaimed and rushed to the floor across the room and picked up some pieces of colorful glass, "This was Thora's favorite. The first one she made when she was ten…"

Balin shook his head in sadness, "Someone should make that young man pay for it."

JoraLee shook his head, "He has already. ThoraLee hit his sister, this is payback."

"No JoraLee. This is bully. Trust me that young man will pay for it. That family will pay for it." Balin was turning red with anger.

JoraLee looked up at Balin and shook his head, "Trust me, we don't want any trouble. They will be back for more trouble."

Balin eyed at JoraLee, "Tell me JoraLee, has this kind of behaviour happened before? To your family or to someone else?"

JoraLee pause for a moment than he nodded, "But I don't want to sound like a snitch or something, I mean, usually if we leave them alone, they do the same. Most of the other folks do that as well."

Balin nodded as he stroke his beard slowly, thinking. But he didn't say anything about the matter anymore.

At this time Dwalin had come in, "…can't believe that obnoxious fool tried to tell me nothing happened! Striking a girl!"

Balin grinned at his friend who sat down beside him, Erimm was sitting by his son. "Where is ThoraLee? Is she all right?"

Balin answered for him, "She is still unconscious and in bed. We put a soothing salve on her cheek, it should keep the swelling down to the minimum. I can't do anything about the bruise though."

Erimm said, "Thank you, Master Balin, I don't know what would happen if you were not here."

"Think nothing of it. But mark my word, that family will be made to pay for what they did to your daughter." Then he looked up at Dwalin, "Did you see what they did to the property here?" He waved at the floor.

Dwalin looked around and saw the damage and shook his head, "They are terrible people. Oh, they will pay all right."

"Father, we should clean up before Thora wakes up, before she finds out what Crudd had done."

Erimm nodded his head.

"Come, we'll help you, young man." Balin was standing up.

JoraLee shook his head, "No need, sir. It'll not take long. Father, why don't you take these gentlemen to the workshop in the back and show them the swords. After all, this is what you came for." He tried to smile encouragingly.

The two dwarves nodded and they followed Erimm out of the house through the back door and to their workshop while JoraLee began cleaning up.

…

When ThoraLee finally woke up, she felt even more horrible, especially her face. Then she shot upright as she recalled what happened.

That bully Crudd Cimbolli had ambushed her at her home and hit her square in her jaw. She put her hand on her jaw and almost screamed. It was huge and it hurt something bad. She felt like half a puffy pastry; a very huge half pastry.

Then she started to laugh…hysterically. This was payback. Payback for all the punches she gave to Thorin. Now she was spotting a matching bruiser. Irony could be cruel.

She moved her jaw about her and found that it hurt…a lot. Damn that Crudd. _Wait till I lay my hands on that fat buffoon! I'll make him regret he ever laid a hand on me ever._

She left her bed and left her room and looked around the living room. It was quiet all over the house as she walked into the kitchen. It was too clean and tidy. Something was not right.

Entering her room again, she decided to change out of her dress. Back to her work clothes, back to working with her jewelry…she looked over to where her little dressing table was her work; her first metal engraving tool set her father had given her when she turned 10 where she made her glass ornament that was …she dashed out of her room fast and to the living room where the mantle was, where her favorite ornament was…but it was gone. She spun around the room looking for it, "Where is it? This had better not be a joke. JoraLee is going to pay for trying to pull a prank on me like this." She ran out of the room and into the kitchen and didn't see the ornament either. Then she looked out the window and saw there was smoke bellowing out of the chimney, indicating that someone was in the workshop.

She ran towards the workshop, readying a blistering speech for her brother; he knew not to touch her precious ornament.

She winched the opened hard, "JoraLee! If you hid my ornament, you'd better give it back to me now or I'll…I'll melt all your bloody tools together and bury them in the deepest part of the lake…give it back NOW!"

All four dwarves stopped what they were doing as they stared at the angry vision before them.

"Well, how are you doing, ThoraLee?" Balin greeted her.

Thrown off her game, ThoraLee glanced at Balin, surprise that he was here, as well as Dwalin who was waving at her timidly. "I'm fine sir. Just sore."

"Good. I'm glad. I have to say you have some wonderful work here, Ms ThoraLee." Dwalin nodded enthusiastically.

ThoraLee slowly approached the work table where they were examining an array of the twins' work.

After a while, ThoraLee pulled her brother aside and asked him about the ornament again.

Reluctantly, JoraLee explained to her what Crudd had done.

But instead of getting mad and stomping off, ThoraLee just fell on the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her head. Soon they could hear her sobbing.

Feeling horrible, the men surrounded her and tried to console her.

Balin and Dwalin told her that they had sent father and son to the magistrate to be dealt with.

At that point, ThoraLee shook her head, "It's no use, the Magistrate is in his pockets. He's not going to do anything."

Balin was indignant, "Is there no honesty in this place anymore?"

Dwalin shook his head, "The King shall hear about this."

ThoraLee said, "No, forget about it," she said sadly as she wiped her tears away. "It's a childish trinket anyways. It's time to move on." Then she stood up and took a deep breath and let it out.

Balin nodded at her spirit, "That's the attitude. Now come here and show me how you manage to etch this piece of metal so finely. I'm really interested to learn."

Smiling at her new friend, she proceeded to show him. JoraLee and Erimm were grateful to him for being able to distract her and soon lifted her spirits and in no time she was back to her lively self.

The two dwarves spent the whole day and early evening with the family. They had learned a lot about this new family and what they learned they liked very much. Of course, the twins were often quarrelsome but what children weren't? And they really enjoyed their company.

As the sun to set, Balin and Dwalin took their leave. Waving a good night to them, ThoraLee gave them a hug each as she had grown to like them very much and was sad to see them leave.

On their way back to the palace in Erebor, the two began discussing, "Dwalin, what do you think?"

"About what my friend? There are so many things to discuss." Dwalin replied.

Balin nodded, "First JoraLee's future, you heard his father, he had no problem as to what we suggested. He knew we could advance him.

"Who is going to be his teacher?"

"Why Master Odin, of course!"

Dwalin nodded; Odin was a 230 year old dwarf who was a master swords-maker. Although he no longer make swords, Balin knew that he could be pressed into teaching JoraLee, especially when the old dwarf saw his work; he couldn't deny furthering the young man his talent.

Dwalin continued, "Next topic, those fat buffoons. Something must be done about the injustices. Not just to ThoraLee but to others, from what I'm told. JoraLee informed me that it had gone on for a long time, especially to the business around Dale."

"A whole family of bullies to gain profit without heavy lifting," Balin said thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking, Balin?"

Balin shrugged, "That it is time that family makes a living again, in the honest way."

Dwalin nodded, "I like your way of thinking, my friend." He laughed jovially.

"I'm glad you like it too, come on, I'm getting thirsty. Let's see what our fine Prince has been up to all day today." Balin laughed.

"Missing the fair and fiery maiden, ThoraLee."

They laughed heartily, "That she is, fiery. I tell you, Dwalin, that girl is one ball of fire. Thorin is going to have his hand full when he weds her."

"You think so?"

"I know so. They are a perfect match."

"If you said so. I guess I might as well begin work on their wedding gifts."

They laughed again as they approached the gates; the gate guards waving them through upon recognizing them.

….

End of Chapter 5

As always, thank you! Before I go on, please let me know if you like this story so far or if I should go on. Just a simple yay or nay…or any feedback would be great, I am up for it as I am not sure how anyone likes so far.

Thank you!

J.


	6. Chapter 7

Coming Of Age – Chapter 6

**Author's note: here I go again…indecisions…after a long talk…very long talk with my beloved daughter who did not like my decision; we decided to continue our silly journey.**

**I do want to add here that should have been placed in the beginning of the first chapter is that this story is supposed to be humorous and slightly exaggerated, and the character Thoria and Thrain are very OOC – out of character- which I realized is a turn off for some of you intense Tolkien followers. For that I apologize if I offend for that is not my intention. I just want to do a lighter side of the story without making it totally ridiculous. **

**The entire story is not always humorous, I assure you, as there will at some point where they will be serious.**

**Thank you for your indulgence in my whims of this fantasy concocted purely for fun.**

**Now, please enjoy!**

….

"I say, is there any beer left in that keg for some friends ?" Dwalin and Balin peeked into the Thorin's private chambers.

He looked up to them and waved them in happily, "Where have the two of been all day?" He had stood up and filled two mugs before setting them before his friends.

"I see you are looking slightly better, not a lot but just slightly, at least you can see out of both eyes again." Balin observed as he took a deep pull from his drink and gave a loud burp in return. "And that ugly nose of yours, I see Crimm had done a wonderful job in resetting it back. If you ask me, I'd leave it broke, it might lent itself a scary sight, frightening everyone away."

Thorin eyed him, "Then I'm glad I'm did not have to rely on you to reset it for me; you'd do a horrible job."

The other two laughed.

Thorin's left eye indeed had finally opened up, thanks to Crimm's constant medicinal ministration of poultices and salves which reduced the swelling, as well as his nose but he was now really sporting a rainbow of bruises. Besides, it was a known fact that Dwarves were hardy creatures and they heal quickly…well, not very quickly.

Dwalin nodded in agreement with his friend, "Yes Balin, he is looking better, not a whole lot because he wasn't that much better to look at to begin with but not even the great Aulё can do anything about it."

Thorin waved absently about him, "I'm fine, just bored to death being cooped in here all day. So, are you going to answer me or do I have to pry it out of you?"

Balin and Dwalin looked at each other than at Thorin, "We went to see the twins today."

"Who? What twins?"

They explained to Thorin their excursion to ThoraLee and her brother, including the run-ins with Crudd.

"Wait, you mean someone punched that girl?" They nodded. "And knocked her out cold?" Again, another nod.

"Oh ho…ho!" Thorin began to laugh heartily!

Balin and Dwalin certainly did not expect their friend to laugh at Lee!

Thorin then raised his mug into the air and said, "Here's to the young man for teaching that wench a fine lesson," he made an air salute and drained his mug, stood up and refilled his mug.

Dwalin slammed his mug hard on the wooden table sloshing the beer about but he didn't care as he stood up, "I am so ashamed of you Thorin! You know the rule; men do not hit woman. That young man was at least three times the size of Lee…"

"Four times, he was very big, I'd say four times her size." Balin interjected.

Dwalin nodded but continued his tirade, "Three, four times but that's beside the point, it is the rule of the Kingdom. It was uncalled for. And for you to cheer for him. I am too ashamed, Thorin, too ashamed. Good night, if there is anything good about a night like this night is for you." With a nod to Balin, he left the chambers slamming the door with a resounding bang knocking down a few books off the shelves.

Thorin arched a brow at the now closed door and said, "Well, what has gotten into his beer? "

"Thorin, Dwalin is right. That man should not have hit her."

Thorin frowned at his oldest friend, "Not you too; you've known her for less than a day and she has you eating out of her hand. She is nothing but trouble and a…a temptress. You should stay away from the likes of her. She is nothing but trouble."

"Thorin! She is your valet's niece, be watchful of your tongue. And she happens to be a very nice young lady."

Thorin ignored him as he took a drink.

"Damn you, Thorin! You are the most pig headed fool I've ever met! I cannot understand why you are harboring such hatred for her."

Thorin pointed to his own face, "Look at this, will you? This is her handy-work."

"Yes, yes," Balin waved his hand about. "It was an accident, as she had explained to you. And those bruises will fade eventually. You've had worst bruises before, and you've never acted like this… as if she had cut off your hand."

"Don't even think it. She might just do that."

"Damn it, Thorin! Will you stop condemning her?"

Thorin glared at him, "Will you stop singing about her. I am growing really tired of her and everything that's related to her already. From now on, I forbid anyone mentioning about her and her name…what's her name?"

Balin stood up, "Well then, we have nothing else to say, Thorin, Good night. Like Dwalin said, there is nothing good about this night for you." He left right after, slamming the door just like Dwalin did, knocking the rest of the books off the shelf.

Thorin shook his head, "What the heck is going on with everyone tonight…and today?" As he drank some more beer by himself.

He recalled earlier in the day when his brother Frerin came to his room in a foul mood, "Father is sending me with the army for more weapons training. Said I needed more experience. For what? I don't know. He is always pushing me for more work. Archery, back sword, broadsword, double sword, the mace, the mattock, and the axe, if anyone comes up with anymore weapons, I'm going to shoot him with my bow and arrow, then cut his head off with the back sword, clubbed him with the mace and if he is still alive, I'll hack him with the double sword and the axe, and for good measure, my favorite mattock." Before Thorin could answer, Frerin left his room, slamming his door shut,

Thorin surprisingly found that he had spare time due to the fact that Crimm had forbade him to move about as he had placed poultices on Thorin's face to reduce the swelling. So he spent the day reading and drinking until that confrontational night with his friends.

With a shrug, he spent the rest of the lonely evening drinking more beer, getting drunk by the moment until Crimm came in and hauled him back to his bed.

Late that night, Thorin had some horrible dreams aided by extra imbibed beer; he dreamt that a big huge dwarf four times the size of an orc had punched Lee in the head and as she flew and landed onto a field, Frerin began to attack her with a backsword as she tried to crawl away from him but the giant orc was holding her as Thorin was laughing cruelly at her as he watched her being tortured by his brother. All this while Balin and Dwalin alternately passing Frerin the double sword, mace, axe as he hack and hewn at her. As she lay on the grass bleeding, Thorin kept on laughing...

He was up early before the sun was up but he couldn't go back to sleep; the dream or nightmare had shaken him quite a bit as the images was quite graphic and bloody. He sat by the window looking out beyond Erebor, lost in thoughts for the rest of the morning.

By the time the sun had risen, he knew what he had to do.

He hoped she was able to forgive him.

After breakfast he set out to Dale…and to Lee.

In Dale, ThoraLee was up and about her usual morning chores. She was looking and feeling much better as the swelling had gone down significantly that her left eye was now opened, The nly thing was there was purple bruise all around her eye. Dressed in her favorite work shirt and trousers, she saw that they were out of bread, cheese and fruit as well as beer; last evening's entertainment of their guests had depleted their supplies. A trip to the market was necessary.

She found her father and brother hard at work already in the workshop. She told them she was off to the market to resupply their food. With an absent-minded nod, her father waved her off.

"Well, and a good morning to you too, father." She shook her head as she swung a basket as she made her way down the dirt road. He probably had forgotten about her already, his head deep in concentration with his work.

The sun was already warm, it promised to be a hot day that day; a good day for dipping into the lake. It was a medium sized lake named after the town of Dale Many dwarves did not know how to swim but that didn't prevent them from wading into the shallow part of the water.

There were a few that knew how to, though. Lee and Jor were the rare ones that learned how to swim when they were little.

When the twins were four years old, Erimm had taken them deep into the forest in search of the wood elves he knew that dwelled there, his purpose was to trade his metal work. He was successful in his search. The twins were the ones that found the elves; their unusual likeness attracted the attention of the elves to them as they had never seen identical twin dwarves. Sensing their friendliness, the wood elves invited the family to live with them. For four years they lived amongst them which were not unusual as back in those days, elves and dwarves got along well. It was there that Lee learned how to read and write Ancient Runes, as well as metal etching while Jor learned more about sword making; he would have learned more were it not for Erimm eager to return to his people. In the woods, there was also a small lake where the twins learned how to swim from the elves. As they were young, they were fast learner, learning to dive into the deep end without fear, something most dwarves were, given their heavy and stocky built.

They were sad to leave the woods but they had to follow their father. It was hard to settle down in Dale, so used to the gentle life of elves that the dwarf lives seemed totally different. But as years went by, they began to integrate slowly back into their kind.

ThoraLee looked over to the lake beyond the road leading into the town, she saw that the kids were already enjoying the water.

"Lucky children," she smiled as she waved to some of them who had spotted her.

"Come on in, Lee!" one of them yelled and wave enthusiastically "Come join us, the water is nice right now!"

ThoraLee shook her head, pointing her basket and yelled back, "I have to go to the market! Need bread and cheese. I have work to do!"

There was a chorus of disappointing 'oohh's' as she left them behind; ThoraLee was a favorite of the children as she loved to play with them whenever she could. She was not shy about playing chase with them all, unlike most young female dwarves her age who were busy trying to catch the eyes of the male dwarves; she enjoyed the company of the children the most. She was always volunteering to babysit for the mothers when they had their hands full and needed a couple of hours of peace and respite.

Just as she was about to step foot into the bakery stop she heard a loud scream; it came from the direction of the lake.

Without hesitation, she dropped the basket and ran towards as one of the children, dripping wet, was waving at her, "ThoraLee! It's Bels! She's in the deep water! Hurry!"

ThoraLee looked over the water and saw a dark haired child struggling in the water, her hands tiny hands flailing above her.

By now, there was a crowd of adult dwarves gathering by the edge of the lake, some of them were parents clutching their children who were standing watching the tiny child struggling in the water, looking on helpless.

ThoraLee quickly waded into the water and as soon as it reached to her waist, she dived down and began to swim towards the girl who had stopped struggling; her body was still and facing down in the water.

As soon as she touched the girl, ThoraLee grabbed her and clutched her to her body and swam one-handed, a long and hard process but she kept on until her feet touched the bottom of the gravel.

Carrying the lifeless body, ThoraLee brought her to the shore and laying her down on the grass, she began to compress her chest, pleased to see water coming out of her mouth.

The crowd had gathered around them, marveling at her ministration. When they saw Bels' lifeless body, they thought she had died and was ready to mourn her, someone had already sent for her mother, Shoshin, the seamstress who had made ThoraLee's dress.

"ThoraLee, what are you doing?" Someone was asking her. "There's nothing you can do for her."

"Saving her," she replied huskily before she began opening the little girl's mouth and bending over, blew a gentle breath into her. There were gasps around the crowd as they were shocked at her strange actions.

ThoraLee repeated her actions a couple of times, as well as applying pressure on Bethina's chest and soon, she took a breath and began to cough and gurgled, Lee quickly moved the little girl to her side just as she threw up a lot of lake water and coughed more.

Then she started to cry.

ThoraLee smiled and hugged her, "Oh Bels, you're all right now. Come on, shh…it's okay, there…oh! Here's your mamma." Shoshin was on her knees, crying as she hugged her child who was had started to cry loudly. Shoshin had grabbed ThoraLee and thanked her, "Lee! You saved my baby! I am so grateful to you!" More tear rolled down from the grateful parent.

"Think nothing of it, Shoshin. I'm just glad that I'm nearby. Now, we both better get home and change so we don't catch our colds."

She stood up and that was when she realized the size of the crowd had grown. With a wet shrug of her shoulder, "Well, folks, as you can see, she's fine. How about letting us through." With that she began to move and headed back to her house, quickly.

What she didn't see as she walked home was a figure standing nearby watching her and then following her to her house.

It was Thorin; he had come to Dale to apologize to her but realize that he didn't know where she lived. He was about to ask for direction when he heard the screaming. He saw the little girl near drowning in the lake and was about to jump into the lake when he saw Lee jumped in before him. At first he wanted to stop her; not many dwarves could swim, he didn't know if she could.

Of course she could swim! Why did that fact not surprise him?

Lately there were many things she did that didn't surprise him at all. She seemed to have some sort of ...of amazing powers. As if she had some elf in her but that couldn't be so, for she was completely and totally dwarf. Every part of her features was dwarf…well, the parts he could see, that was.

Then again, she was slender, unlike most female dwarf. Not even his mother, bless her, was skinny. But then after bearing three children, she was bound to gain some weight. Although she still maintain her regal bearing.

Entering their front gate, he moved quietly by the side of her house, next to a tree, he saw her moving through an opened window what he presumed was her bedroom, he realized she was changing! His face was turning red as he didn't realize he was peeping! Embarrassed, he turned from looking at her and stood behind a tree. He began to look about him and saw a small building behind the house muttered, "That must be the forge Balin talked about." There was smoke coming out of the chimney.

Then he heard a soft sweet voice singing within the window. Curious, he turned back to look in; he saw that she was singing as she was removing her shirt. Some sort of song he didn't recognize but it was melodic and soothing. She had a very nice and gentle voice for a female dwarf.

She was in her undergarment and was about to pull down her trousers which were hard to do as it was stuck to her skin being that it was still damp. She had to bend over to slowly peel the material off her when she heard what sounded like a twig snapped outside her window! An intruder…no, a peeper! Straightening up fast, she turned around fast and grabbing a dagger she kept by her boots, she dashed to the window and saw a shadow, "Who's there? Show yourself you peeper!"

No answer.

"Look, I can see you standing behind that tree. I have a weapon and I'll use it. Get out here, you coward."

No answer.

"Okay then. I'm not moving from here until you come out." She said as she began to climb out of her window, dagger in her hand, as she moved as softly as possible.

Thorin could hear soft rustling; and the soft crunch of dry soil. He closed his eyes for a moment, cussing his luck; she had crept out of the house and was on the other side of the tree, any moment, he would be discovered, there was no where he could make his escape. Time to come clean.

Just as he made up his mind to 'give himself up', Thorin took a step out from around the tree trunk, and at the same time ThoraLee stepped in front of him and screamed.

With a quick reflex, he covered her mouth with his large hand, effectively shutting off her scream; he was afraid her screams would alarm the neighborhood.

As soon as she recovered from her shock, she raised her dagger, ready to take care of her intruder; she still had not recognized Thorin up close, and the fact that both his eyes were opened this time. She had raised her dagger and was about to stab him but he was quick and grabbed her wrist hard, causing her to release it.

"It's me, Thorin. Nod once if you understand." He said behind her. She nodded once, she couldn't believe it was him but what was he doing here? And peeping into her window?

"Good, I'm going to release you and you're not going to hit me, right?" She nodded once again.

Pleased that she understood him, Thorin slowly released her.

ThoraLee glared at him, "What are you doing here? And why are you peeping at me changing?"

Thorin shook his head, "I…first of all, I was not peeping on you, second, I came by to apologize to you."

She looked him suspiciously, "Why?"

"For being mean to you the other night…for locking you."

She was quiet as she was contemplating his sincerity…and found that he meant it.

"All right, apology accepted."

Thorin nodded, "Thank you." He didn't move from where he was standing as he began to stare at her.

It was then that she glanced down at herself and blushed deeply; she remember immediately that she had not bothered to put on her shirt when she tried to catch 'her burglar'. Immediately she placed her hands across her chest, although she knew it was too late as he must have seen more than he should have.

"I...I...should go back in and get dressed," she said, her cheeks or one of her cheeks as the other one was still bruised, had turned deep red.

Thorin nodded in agreement as he was ashamed of himself for staring at her blatantly; he should be ashamed of himself but he realized she had a beautiful figure. Her damp pants had wrapped around her legs tightly showing off her shape which made it even more enticing to him.

"This is not happening again!" She almost yelled as she ran from the tree to the window and began to climb, stepping on a rock, to hoist herself up and in her hurry, she stumbled and rolled unladylike and fell into her room, hitting a piece of furniture as Thorin heard a crash and an unfeminine cuss.

"Are you okay?" He said through the window, trying not to look in but was concerned at the same time.

"Yes! I'm fine! Thank you." Then he saw her standing up as she approached the window and quickly closed it.

Thorin raised an eyebrow at being shut off but the window suddenly opened again as ThoraLee was putting on her shirt, "Wait! Come around the front door and I'll let you in, if you want to stay and visit, that is."

He nodded.

She smiled and then closed the window again.

Thorin smiled as he shook his head and headed out of the tree and went around the front of the house.

"Oh ho! Look who's here!" Thorin turned around and smiled as he saw his friends Balin and Dwalin riding up in their ponies.

Thorin went up to them, "Well, good morning to you two. What are you doing?"

Balin dismounted and brought a big package that was hanging from the side of the saddle of his pony.

Dwalin likewise did the same but it was two big jugs; one on each on either side instead.

"Since we supped with them yester eve, and we must have ate most of their food from their pantry. So we have brought them some replenishment."

"Ah, I see." Thorin said.

"What about you, Thorin, what are you doing here?" Dwalin asked, balancing two big jugs.

"Upon the advices of some wise friends," he eyed at his friends who grinned back at him. "I came to apologize to Ms. ThoraLee." Thorin said.

Balin looked at his friend closely trying to gauge his friend if this was more than an apology visit but for once he couldn't read the prince.

"And, "Thorin continued. "I wanted to apologize to my two best friends for my awful behaviour last night."

Balin and Dwalin exchanged looks and then nodded, "Apologies accepted, my dear Prince. Now, let's go inside and greet our new friends, we have much to discuss." Balin said.

Thorin nodded and all three moved to the front of the house and knocked on the door.

…..

End of Chapter 6

Thank you! Don't forget, a comment from you would be great!

J.


	7. Chapter 8

Coming Of Age – Chapter 7

It was a jovial meeting in the house, made more so when ThoraLee went to the workshop to inform her father and brother about their visitors and new guest.

Erimm was in shock to see the Prince of Erebor visiting his humble home. As ThoraLee introduced Thorin to her father and brother, Erimm wondered what his real purpose was.

Jor was observing his sister when he realize her hair was wet, "Lee? Why is your hair wet?"

Everyone around the table was quiet when Thorin interrupted, "If I may; ThoraLee rescued a little girl earlier from the lake. She revived the child that was drowned. I don't know how she knew what to do but she did, it was amazing." There was nothing but a tone of admiration in his voice as he spoke. Balin and Dwalin exchanged small grins and nods.

Erimm nodded and explained to his guests about their unusual upbringing when they were little.

"So that explains how you are so good at what you do, ThoraLee" Balin complimented her. Lee blushed deeply.

Of course the peacefulness of the house did not last long around the twins, 21 years old or not; Because Lee was getting all the attention, Jor decided to pop a piece of bread at her and looked away before she realized it was him; it was an old prank they played while at the table when they were little.

At first the adults did not see them as the piece of bread landed on her lap fast, startling her.

_The gall of JoraLee! In front of guests, no less!_ She tried to catch his eye.

Taking the same piece of bread, Lee tried to pop it back at her brother when Thorin stood up and it landed into his mug!

Lee blushed immediately as he stared hard at his drink and looked about him, wondering where it came from. She put her head in her hand and tried not to laugh.

"Something the matter, Lee?" her father asked her.

She shook her head, biting her lips hard, not trusting herself to talk.

"ThoraLee?"

She shook her head, "I'm all right."

Then she felt a pop and a grape fell from her head. She looked up and saw Jor grinning.

Pressing her lips together, she grabbed two grapes from her bowl and began to throw it at her brother, one after the other in quick succession. The first he managed to dodge but not the second as he didn't expect it and was thus pelted on the face.

"The two of you stop it this instance! We have guests." Their father glared at them. They nodded and obeyed him, giggling.

"I swear, you two are behaving and acting as if you are still three year olds. I am quite ashamed of your behaviour, in front of guests, no less." He said sadly.

Balin waved his hand and shook his head, "No worried, Master Erimm, why Thorin and Frerin were worse when they were growing up…"

"Balin…" Thorin growled his warning.

"…why yes, those two would really start throwing bones and forks, and once or twice, knives! Until the King forbade the servants from serving finger food. Soup became the main dish most of the time, no thanks to them. Can't throw soup he declared. Not until they were older and much behaved did they began eating solid food again, did you remember those days, Dwalin?"

Dwalin nodded, "Oh yes, until that moment, I have since avoided soup whenever possible." He gave a shiver at the thought of soup.

They all laughed while Thorin tried not to blush, his eyes downward. He remembered all too well growing up with his younger brother, how they gave his parents daily grieve, two overly rambunctious boys. As well as going through several instructors and tutors until the King sent them to work with the King's army that they began to grow out of their childish ways.

"Aye, I should have done so to the two of you. Lucky for you, Lee, the army does not accept young ladies." Their father said.

Thorin quickly changed the subject, he saw the flash of anger in Lee's eyes and said, "Thank you for the food, Master Erimm. Um, I would like to see your work shop, if you could show me?" He asked Erimm.

Erimm nodded and was standing up when Balin exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at him, thinking he had fallen ill.

"That ring! JoraLee, may I see it?" Balin asked as he pointed at it.

Jor lifted his right hand and removed the ring from his forefinger and handed it to Balin, Dwalin leaned over to inspect it as well.

"Hmmm, a most unusual emerald," Dwalin said.

Thorin who was standing by the kitchen watching Lee clearing the dishes shook his head, "It's not an emerald, it's a green diamond; a rare green diamond."

Balin and Dwalin look at him and then brought the ring for a closer look, "indeed, Thorin, it is a very rare gem. How did you know?"

"Because I made it," he said quietly. "And its twin," nodding towards Lee who had stopped moving when she heard his quiet admission.

She looked at him, "You made this whole ring? All by yourself?" He nodded.

"Thorin?" Balin asked, "How did you come by this rare gemstone?"

Thorin straightened and turned to Balin and said;

"I found it a long time ago here in the mines deep in the Lonely Mountains, while I was working alongside Crimm…"

"Uncle Crimm?" Lee whispered. "But he had always been the Royal Valet in your household…or was he?"

Thorin shook his head, "Not at that time, He was a metalsmith back then and I was his apprentice. We were mining for gems and iron in the lowest level of the quarry, where no one dared to go, and father didn't know about it. If he did, he'd have Crimm's head."

"Aye." Dwalin nodded, well aware of the dangers of being inside a mine where the possibilities of a cave-in were always a constant danger for any miner.

"We were about to call it a day when we found some big rubies and small emeralds but to me they were big at that time. It took us almost all day to dig. And after a while, it became clear that that quarry was dry, so we decided to stop. Then we heard the rumble. The two miners that were with us who had more mining experience had told us not to worry as it sounded in the distant. But the rumble continued and kept getting closer. We quickly left the chamber and begin to run back to the surface. The two miners who were running ahead became separated from us and more so when the dirt fell in between, effectively cutting us off from them.

Crimm saw another tunnel and led us though it. But it was a dead end. I was getting scared by then, I was only 15 years old. So I followed whatever Crimm said. And when he was at a lost, I thought we were done for and all I was thinking was what my father was going to do to me when he found out where I was. I didn't think there wouldn't be a me if we didn't' get out of the quarry. Luckily, Crimm kept his head about and somehow found a small cave to crawl through and it led into a bigger opening that led to the surface. But while we were stuck in the dead end, we spotted something that caught our attention; it sparked when our torches hit it. Distracted, Crimm and I used the pick-axe and chiseled it out slowly until it fell out of a hole. It had cracked into two. I thought it was a very light green emerald. But Crimm was the expert in gemstone and realized it was not an emerald but a rare green diamond. As it was in half, it was not worth a whole lot more than it would have whole. But I was more interested in working on it, giving me more experience.

So Crimm made a deal with me; he let me make it into whatever I wanted and he gets to keep it when I'm done. I thought it fair since he saved my life at that time.

And from that day on, once we finally got out of that place, he never wanted to step foot into another again. He preferred to stay in my father's employment and worked in another capacity. As for the two miners, we never heard from them again."

The room was quiet for a while.

Thorin then added, "It took me a few years to make a design I thought was appropriate for the green diamonds. I first worked with the bigger one than the smaller. The metal I used is a new type of light weight metal we all knew it. The _Mithril_."

"But Thorin," Balin frowned. "Why did you not use gold instead? Why silver in color?"

Thorin shrugged, "It just didn't look right. The silver was too bright and heavy. So I tried it with the chain mail. I hoped you both like it."

Jor nodded, "I do, in fact, I hardly noticed it on my finger when I work."

Lee nodded in agreement, "Jor is right. It fitted perfectly in my finger. At first I thought it was too big but it seemed as if to magically shrank and wrapped around my finger just right as soon as I put it on."

Thorin smile and said, "Take off your ring." He requested.

ThoraLee did as he asked and removed it out and gave it to him. Thorin began to put it on and slowly it began to fit into his wide thick finger. The others exclaimed. "I don't know how it happened but it was an accident when I discovered it. I left a piece of chain mail in the furnace the night before and forgotten about it. When I did, I thought it had melted because the furnace was still burning extremely hot that morning, but it didn't, when it cooled the metal looked fine so I began working on it, shaping it into a ring. I didn't know what size I should work it into as Crimm didn't tell me what he wanted to do with it. I thought he was going to sell it or something, so I use my finger for size, figuring if he were to sell it, I'd try to buy it from him.

As for the gemstone, all I could think was to make it as smooth as possible. Usually a diamond should have as many facets as possible to show off its brilliance but I don't know, this green diamond was talking to me, as if it's telling me what to do with it. When I was done with it, I thought I had ruined it as I turned it over in the light, it seemed to have its own brilliance without any facets."

Balin, still holding Jor's ring held it up and turned it, and just as Thorin said, it began to flash against the light as it hit as if it has its own facets.

"That is amazing!" Dwalin exclaimed as he was momentarily blinded by the flashes.

"I wish I'd make an offer for this very fine piece of jewelry but I can see it is priceless." He shook his head with regret as he handed the ring back to Jor who put it back on.

Thorin handed Lee hers back as well. For a moment, he had a crazy vision of slipping the ring into her finger…not her forefinger on her left hand as most single dwarves wore their rings but her middle finger on her right hand!

Shaking his head slightly, he thought he must have had one too many, "So…the work shop?" He quickly suggested before he really felt addled in his head and said or acted really foolish in front of everyone!

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," Erimm announced to the dwarves. "But I have a delivery to make at the market but I shall return shortly. Jor will show you the way."

Dwalin stepped forward, "Wait, Master Erimm, I will accompany you." Erimm nodded glad of the company.

Dwalin bowed to the rest, "We will return shortly then," and they left.

…

He was examining Jor's swords when Lee stood beside him, "This _mil…_ what it is?"

"_Mithril_, it's very strong but very light. And I found out it won't tarnish like copper." Thorin explained as he glanced at her peripherally.

Lee nodded as she raised her hand and looked at the ring again, "I'm glad you came by it. Did you have a chance to create more of this…Mithril?"

Unconsciously, Thorin held her hand, they were watching the diamond's reflection being cast into multiple brilliance reflected by the nearby furnace fire. Their eyes were aglow and they were mesmerized.

Balin was budging at JoraLee, wishing Dwalin was here to see his friend.

Their moment was broken when the sound of a laughing child was heard from somewhere outside, Lee pulled her hand back and turned away from him, her mind confused.

"Oh yes, the Mithril…um, no…I have not. Before I was able to try again, my father had been asking about the text script among other things I was required to do. The Mithril was put aside."

"Well, if you have the time now, can you make more? I'd love to see if I could do some etching in it."

Thorin nodded, feeling suddenly inspired; he had a purpose and another idea. The mold for the special dagger he was designing for his father, if it worked out he could make the dagger from the Mithril. Light weight but strong. He wondered if it was worthy in battle and how long the blade would remain sharp without the need of constant honing; something to consider when in battle.

These were the questions he would ask his friends later when they were alone.

ThoraLee asked again, "Can we make your Mithril here?"

Thorin looked into the small furnace and shook his head. "It needs to be bigger, the fire hotter. The only forge I know that has a huge furnace that suits my needs is in Erebor."

"Oh." ThoraLee said, her face fell. She had hoped to be able to watch him forge a new metal; she was always fascinated by new things and discoveries.

"Lee, where are the daggers we made last moon? I thought it was in the case on the shelf." Jor had called out to her on the other side of the work shop. He was standing in front of a work table where they sat and did their work; long line of shelves above the table against the wall of the building.

Lee moved from Thorin's side and picked up a set four daggers from a bag near the furnace and turned to hand them to Jor when she saw her brother was not watching her.

A mischievous glint flashed across her eyes as she turned the daggers and held one. Thorin saw too late her intention.

"Oh!" He yelled a warning but she had thrown one and it wheezed right by Jor and the blade stuck on the wall with a loud thud, the handle right by his side, his eyes wide opened. Then no sooner another wheezed by on the other side of his ear barely missing him.

"Oh my!" Dwalin gasped as Jor was removing the daggers from either side of him. "Thank you, sister," he said calmly as if something like this happened everyday and normally.

"Give me those." Thorin said, he held out his hand.

Pursing her lips, she slapped the other two daggers on his outstretched palms.

He walked over to the table and gently placed the daggers on it, next to her brother.

Lee rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath and turned around.

But before she could pick a piece of jewelry she was working on, suddenly she heard the familiar whistling sound and a thud as the dagger hit the wall in front of her, and soon its twin hit the wall next to it.

Well, she deserved it but what she hadn't expected was that it wasn't Jor that threw the daggers near her but Thorin!

"YOU!" She exclaimed when she found out, watching his smirk.

"Thorin, you could have…" Balin began.

But before he could finish his sentence, Lee had flung a dagger towards Thorin who caught it with his hand easily.

Balin frowned at them, "Really, you are beginning to act just like…" a dagger whistled by him, cutting him off.

Well, if you could not fight it, why not join them? So, Balin pulled the dagger out of the wall near him and turned to throw it near Lee who, like Thorin, caught it by the handle easily.

Thorin nodded his head, showing that he was surprised and impressed with her skill. Lee smiled back as well as flung another dagger towards him as fast as she could, trying to catch him by surprise.

This went on for some time as all four dwarves began to work in tandem, flinging daggers at each other, passing to one another, as the other catching it easily, showing off their quickness and skills.

All until the door to the workshop opened and Dwalin and Erimm, his errands completed, entered.

Thora who was standing directly across from the door opened and was momentarily distracted, did not see the dagger thrown by Thorin but as it was not aim directly at her but by her side, it hit her right ear and sliced the top of curve of the lobe opened.

"OH!" The men yelled as they all saw the dagger cut her and blood began to spill.

"Lee!" Jor dropped his blade on the floor as he ran to her but Thorin who was closest to her was by her side already and covering her bleeding ear.

"I'm all right, guys," she tried to bat them off her. It didn't hurt much but there was a lot of blood on her hand already.

Grabbing a cloth that was laying about, Thorin put it on her ear to soak the blood and kept it from spilling more.

Dwalin and Erimm who had came in by then had rushed in to her side asked Balin to explain what they were doing to cause the latest accident.

"I said I'm fine. See, it's stopped bleeding. Just need to patch it up and I'll be good as new." Lee assured them again, she was not use to so many male dwarves being so close to her.

"Are you sure, sis?" Jor asked, deeply concern; he had seen the cut and it was deep, he looked at Thorin who returned the look and shook his head.

"Um, Lee," Thorin began. "The cut is deep and it needed to be stitched."

"Stitched?" She muttered "I'm not going to that Dango who claims to be a healer."

"Who is Dango?" Thorin asked.

"A dwarf healer who thinks he knows all about herbs and medicine but he knows nothing..." Erimm shook his head. "My brother knows more than that fake does."

"Well, it's too far to get to Crimm." Thorin said.

"Thorin, you can do it." Balin said. "You've patched many an injured dwarf in the mines."

Thorin nodded. "Do you have needle and a good strong thread?"

Lee shook her head, "I'm not letting him work on my ear," she made to push him away but he didn't budged.

"You can trust him, Lee," Balin assured her. "I have seen him doing it many times when the time was needed."

Dwalin nodded, "He can do it, Lee."

She closed her eyes for a moment, the pain was increasing in her ear and opening her eyes again, she nodded, "very well."

Thorin gave her a small smile as he straightened, looking at Jor, "I need something to numb the pain, um, plenty of linens, needle and thread."

JoraLee nodded and then made to leave but paused and turned back to Thorin and asked him, "Um, we don't have anything to numb the ear…"

Thorin shook his head, "No worries, we'll take care of it.

"Thorin, let's take her out of here, I think the house would be a better place to patch her," Balin suggested.

Thorin nodded, "You are right, Balin." He straightened up and guided her.

She shook him loose, "I can walk. It's not my legs that are injured."

Thorin shrugged, "Fine by me, I was trying to help."

"You've helped enough, trying to take out my ear!" She glared at him; the pain in her ear was beginning to throb more and she shamelessly lashed out at him.

Thorin arched his brow at her, "I didn't mean to! It was an accident, we all saw it. Balin, tell her it was an accident."

Balin would rather not get involved between the two shook his head, "I didn't see it, really."

"Chicken…" Lee muttered at him.

Balin eyed at her and saw the pain in her eyes and realized she was in pain.

"We need some wine…make that lots of wine, "Balin muttered.

"Why?" Lee asked. "Starting early, aren't we?"

"It's for you, to get you somewhat numb from the pain," he replied.

"Oh."

"It'll help. Not much but it'll help." Thorin added.

"I can take the pain," she assured him.

"We'll see," Thorin said.

….

Twenty minutes and three glasses of wine later, Lee was giggling as Thorin was trying to keep her still.

"Hold still or I'll likely sew you ear to your head," Thorin took another deep breath as he tried to hold her still. He wished his friends were here to help hold her but they were more interested in smithing than watching him patch up a torn ear. Thorin was left to tackle a drunk and squirming ThoraLee by himself.

Lee laughed again, "That will be funny! But you won't do that to me, will you, Thorin?" She turned to look at him.

Thorin turned her head back again, "Please! Hold still or I'm going to clamp that head shut."

She started to laugh hysterically at the image in her mind, she almost fell out of the chair but Thorin was quick with his reflex and caught her by her sleeve, kept her from falling flat on the wooden floor.

"My head is spinning, is your head spinning? Oh my gosh! This room is going around in circle…around and around…and around…wheee…whoa! Need to stop the house from moving, Thorin! Seriously, I'm feeling really dizzy. Ooh!" She was flailing her hands about and above her head swinging wide, almost hitting Thorin in the head who luckily saw her hands and ducked in time to avoid them.

"Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!" She shook her head, trying to bat his hand from her head, he was holding the thread and needle.

Thorin was getting frustrated; he was seated by her side on the chair in the kitchen,

"Here, drink more of this wine," he poured her another glass.

She shook her head, "You're trying to take an advantage of me aren't you?" She took another deep drink, finishing the glass.

Thorin arched a look at her and thought to himself; at the rate she was imbibing, she would have passed out in no time and might make his job easy.

"More?" He asked as he poured more.

"No more, I don't think drink I can more," she shook her head as she picked up the glass and drained it. She stare at him, "You very funny man. Nose purple in your eyes."

Thorin shook his head; she was not making any sense…must be getting drunk. She began to speak in what he thought was elfish tongue.

_Didn't know she could speak elf language_, again, it shouldn't surprise him.

Thorin was smiling as he poured one more time; he figured one more glass and she was done for.

"Hey, are you trying to be nice…I mean very nice…you know like very girlfriend and boyfriend nice?" She tilted her head to look at him, and almost fell over, if not for Thorin still holding her.

Thorin frowned at her, "Uh, no, we're not like that, Lee. Come on, let me get to your ear.."

"No!"

She shook her head, spots of blood splattered about her and him.

"I want to know what you think of me."

Thorin arched a brow at her; great_, she's really drunk! Wished she'd just pass already_…

"Thorin?" She eyed him. "Don't you like me?"

"Lee, you're really drunk and you don't know what you're talking about, so stop."

"Stop what?" She pouted. "I like me…no, I mean, I like you. Uh, do you?"

"I what?" This was getting ridiculous.

He poured more wine, "Here, drink more."

She giggled, "You are a naughty dwarf! Trying to get me drunk! Shame on you Thorin." She batted her eyes at him. Thorin blushed deeply and groaned deeply, she was such a minx.

"Lee, please, let me work on your e…"

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his suddenly!

Thorin's eyes flew wide opened; well, _that wasn't expected! And not unpleasant as he deepened the kiss…and realized she hadn't responded…_

He pushed her away from him and began to laugh deeply; she had passed out. _Finally!_

Thorin stood and picked her up, surprise to find she did not weigh that much at all. He looked around and saw a door that led to what he thought was a bedroom and stepped into it.

He was right; there was a neatly made bed among other typical bedroom furniture inside so he laid her down on top of it, moving her so she was lying on her side, the injured ear facing up. He went back to the kitchen to gather up the supplies and brought it back into the bedroom and began to work on her ear.

Sitting beside her, he was able to patch it without her squirming about or screaming in pain, something he had dreaded when he realized he had do it to her. Normally, when he patched a fellow dwarf, they didn't scream, they took the pain. But ThoraLee was not a man; she was not used to this type of pain. He was glad the wine helped although he was not looking forward when she woke up as he knew she was probably going to have a hangover. Then again, he would be gone by then. As he watched her lay asleep, he couldn't help himself and reached up and touched her cheek, slowly stroked it along her smooth and soft jaw.

Reluctantly, he left her and went to the kitchen and cleaned his hands, washed the blood off his hands.

As he left the house to head to the work shop, he saw that it was getting late; it was time to head back to Erebor.

…..

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 9

Coming Of Age – Chapter 8

ThoraLee was standing alone by a large window that was opened; the sun was setting beyond the horizon as she overlooked the top of the trees that blanketed the darkening forest before the Lonely Mountains. You could barely see the top of the Mountain as it was covered by clouds.

A gentle breeze blew into the room as she closed her eyes as she breathed in the freshness of the air. Then she opened and smiled as a large hand snaked and wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her towards him as his soft low baritone voice whispered into her ear, "ThoraLee," caressing her.

She turned her head to one side and rested her cheek on his chest. She could hear a low rumble as it vibrated from within his chest, as if he was growling; a sweet contented growling.

"My sweet ThoraLee…" He hugged her tighter to him but she felt her ear twinged; the same ear that was sliced by the dagger he threw in the work shop…

"Ouch!"

"It's okay," she could hear his sweet voice saying to her, whispering as he nibbled her earlobe.

She giggled at first, her skin tingled with the sensation his nibbling was making her feel.

But he became a little more aggressive as his nibbling began to sting, "Thorin! Ow! That hurts! Take it easy will you?" She tried to nudge him away.

But he continued his tight hold on her, "It'll be okay, Lee my love. It'll stop hurting."

Lee frowned as she thought to herself; _this was not the way it was supposed to be!_

He bit her ear again and this time, harder.

"OW!"

She screamed! And pushed him away and yelled at him, "What is your problem?"

He was smirking at her as he held his hand to her, "Come back to me, Lee. Let me kiss you, my love." He leaned in to kiss her..or did she leaned to kiss him?

_Wait, my love? Since when did Thorin start calling her my love?_

He began biting her ear again...

_Lee?_

_Lee! _

_Wake up!_

Lee woke up with a start, sitting up on her bed, her father and brother staring at her; they were standing by the door to her bedroom but she wince hard as she sat up; her head was pounding as if someone had taken a mattock and repeatedly smashing it on her head, on top of it was her ear which was still throbbing.

"Are you okay, Lee?"

She began to nod but it was throbbing hard as she moved it so she muttered instead, "Yes, Why?"

Jor and her father exchanged looks before he replied to her, "You kept calling Prince Thorin's name, telling him to stop…did you kiss him, Lee?"

"No!...Must be dreaming," she mumbled again. "Head's hurting bad, need rest, please," She flopped down on her pillow as she groaned out loud but soon was quiet with a light snore as she fell asleep again. Then sat up again suddenly, "I DID NOT KISS THORIN!" She fell back onto her pillow.

Father and son peeked at her and said together, "Hangover." They nodded and left her and headed out to the work shop where they worked until the sunset.

….

It was dark by the time the three dwarves made it back to Erebor. Dwalin and Balin had decided to leave for the Misty Mountains with Jor in the next few days as soon as they stock up their provisions. They were to look for Old Master Odin with the intention of convincing him to take in the young dwarf as his apprentice.

"You know he lives near the Misty Mountains?" Thorin asked, wishing he was going with them.

"Yes, last we heard, ten years ago." Balin added.

Thorin eyed his friend.

"What happened if he didn't want to, take Jor in? Wouldn't he be disappointed then?"

"We have talked to him with all possibilities and he is prepared for it. He is excited to travel, nonetheless."

"I see," Thorin remarked quietly. "When are you leaving?"

Dwalin shook his head, "Soon, maybe by the end of the week."

"That soon…" Thorin said sadly.

"Thorin, you'll be soon busy with your text script with Lee. That is going to take quite a while. My friend," Balin nodded his head encouragingly. "You'd hardly have time to see us. By the time you have that text completed, we'd be back already. You wouldn't have noticed we had gone."

Thorin looked at his friends and smiled, "You're right. I'll be busy. But I will miss you all nonetheless.

"As we will, Thorin," Dwalin replied. He too admitted and realized that he really would miss his closest friend when they leave for the Misty Mountains.

As they approached the palace, they saw the guards waving to them anxiously.

"Your highness!" When the three came up to them.

"What is it? What is going on?" Thorin was tensed, his hand on the hilt of his sword, as did his two friends.

"The King of _Nogrod_ has come to visit. He has brought an army of fifty men and his womenfolk and a whole kingdom of household servants!"

"What is he doing here?" Thorin asked."

"I know not, your highness." the guard replied.

Thorin nodded, "That's all right. We shall find out."

The guard let them through and the three rode on.

"What is going on, Thorin? The King of Nogrod? Gul Mored, hmmm, I can guess what he is here for, no doubt the Arkenstone." Thorin frowned hard.

"Why would he want the Arkenstone?"Dwalin asked.

"As one of the nine Dwarf Kings whom father is one of nine, they all have the rights to the Arkenstone. Whosoever has possession of the Stone is King of all nine. In his dreams," Thorin spat.

"But the Stone is not yet discovered."

"I know, that is why I don't know why he is here, and why is he bringing the womenfolk?" Thorin was puzzled by it as he was approached by the squires who came and took their ponies.

"The King has been asking for you, your highness," the young dwarf said nervousness.

"Well, I'm here. I'll be up directly," he nodded at him assuredly.

A little later, he made his way, by himself as Balin and Dwalin retreated to their rooms; they knew this was not their business, so they stayed away from it, they knew that Thorin would fill them in later.

Thorin straightened his clothing as best he could as he rushed into the court where he knew his father would be receiving guests.

"Ah! Here's my son!" He heard his father's booming voice, sounded relief upon seeing him. "Thorin! Come greet King Gul Mored and Queen Pri! You have not seen them since you were a wee babe."

Thorin bowed to them and greeted them politely then he looked at them, trying to gauge their visit as he moved to stand by his father's right side, by his throne.

King Gul Mored was a big fat doughy dwarf weighing over 30 stones; short and stumpy. His finger were stubby with big gaudy rings on every digits, thick cords of gold chains wrapped around his fat neck as if he was wearing a collar. His legs were short and fat as round like cut of tree trunks. His wife, the queen was not any skinnier, similarly dressed and heavily jeweled, it was a wonder they could move about them easily.

He glanced at his father to see his reaction and almost laugh as his father was trying his best to contain himself.

Thorin wondered what Lee would say if she were to see them!

_Wait a minute…since when did you want to know what she thought of her opinion? Did it matter?_

_Well, yes; for a good laugh because she would make him laugh._

He suddenly realized he couldn't stop thinking about her!

"…And so we decided it would make an excellent alliance and we can expand our kingdoms by our children's wedding."

"Who's wedding?" Thorin blurted.

"Why yours and our daughter's, the Princess Gruffidel!" Gul Mored and his pudgy wife began clapping enthusiastically.

Thorin whipped his head to face his father and heatedly said, "Father, please do something about this!" He hissed quietly, sounding desperate.

"But son," Thrain shook his head as he whispered back. "You have not seen their daughter yet. What happens if she is a… uh…she is…agreeable?"

"You cannot be serious about this?"Thorin was waving around the room behind him.

"Their kingdom is larger than ours…a lot larger. It would make our kingdom bigger against the dwarves from the Misty Mountains and Moria."

Thorin shook his head sadly, "So you're selling your eldest son for a bigger kingdom."

Sighing, Thrain said, "I have not decided on anything."

"Thrain!" Gul Mored interrupted the father-son discussion, "Shall I present my daughter?"

Diplomacy dictated that he must not decline his guest's request.

"Please do us the honor, Gul Mored." Thrain nodded.

Gul Mored, encouraged nodded his head, then clapped his hand three times and immediately a group of male dwarf servants carrying a light colorful stretcher-like which a very beautiful female dwarf sat atop of it. She, like her parents, was clad in gold jewelry almost from head to toe. Her hair was adorned with gold ropes looped intricately in and around her hair, more gold necklaces wrapped around her neck. Her wrists were covered with gold and jeweled-toned bracelets, as well as her ankles peeping out of her skirt. Unlike her parents she was not fat and pudgy but was slender. The dwarf servants sat the carrier down and helped the princess out of her seat, the servant in the front knelt before her placed a white cloth on top of his hand and held it out, she then place her hand on top of the cloth before she was helped out of her seat.

Thorin arched his brow; obviously, she felt herself way above the servants.

She walked daintily to stand by her parents and waited imperiously, her chin up in the air.

"Thrain, Thorin, my daughter, the Honorable Most High, Princess Gruffidel," Gul Mored announced proudly.

Thrain who did not get up bowed from his seat, while Thorin bowed to her from where he was, while he wondered silently to himself where she obtained that insufferable title.

"My dear, that is King Thrain and the oldest prince Thorin, who, if it is agreeable, would be your husband."

Gruffidel glance at Thorin and turned to her father and said, "He will do but needs to dress better to compliment my stature."

Thorin frowned as he shook his head, "Um, no…not yet. I have not agreed to any proposal."

Gul Mored turned red immediately and glared at Thrain, "Thrain! What is this! You agree to the alliance!"

Thrain held out his hand, "Hold it, Gul Mored. My son meant that …"

"That… ?" Gul Mored asked suspiciously. Then he added, "Oh, you mean the Arkenstone. If you have found the Stone. Why it would be rightfully ours."

Thrain stood up immediately, incensed, "No! That is not in the agreement."

Gul Mored nodded as he smirked, "Oh no, you're not getting away so easily, Thrain. Your father Thror had made the agreement and signed upon it with my father." He removed the contract from his chubby body. My father once saved the life of your father, so in return they agreed to share the richness of the Kingdom from the Lonely Mountains and contents, where the Arkenstone is also found."

He handed the contract to Thrain who read it and confirmed that their fathers had signed it.

Thrain looked at his son, "I'm afraid so, son. The contract is true and binding. Whatever is in the Lonely Mountains is half theirs." He emphasized those words to him.

Thorin looked at him strangely as if he was trying to hint at him but not in front of their guests. Thorin nodded; he knew what his father was getting at; the Arkenstone might not be in the Lonely Mountains.

Gul Mored took the contract back from Thrain's hands and put it away in his body. Thrain wanted to laugh; there was not a lot of treasure to be found in the Lonely Mountains; the dwarves and humans had dug most of it and left it bare. They were welcome to the leftovers.

"Well," Thrain who was still standing. "I believed we have set up a good table for supper. Shall we repair to the dining halls?" He pointed to the double doors across to his left.

Gul Mored rubbed his hands together, "Food! Oh yes! Let's!" His queen was bobbing her head happily as they walked happily towards the dining halls.

Thorin held his hand out to Gruffidel, "Princess?" He had forgotten her name, so using her title was safer.

Gruffidel held her chin up but did not take his hand and followed after her parents.

Thrain shook his head as he walked with his son who whispered to his father, "How long are they staying?"

Thrain shrugged as he whispered back, "I don't know, son. But I hope it's not long. I don't know how much I can put up with this."

"Me, too, Father, me too." His Father clapped his arm around his shoulder and with a show in force, father and son walked smartly to the Durin dining Halls.

…

It was a long drawn out dinner. It was very long and made longer because the Princess Gruffidel was unhappy with the entire meal served to her. The meat was too tough, according to her that her servant had to cut it into small pieces for her. Then she complained that the freshly baked bread was stale, which wasn't. Then she pointed that the silver ware were dirty. She refused to eat until the servants brought her cleaned ones which she had rejected three sets, as well as the dishes. Thorin wanted to pour his wine on her by the middle of the meal, he had lost his appetite. As he was sitting there watching her pettiness, he began to think of ThoraLee and wondered what she thought of this 'princess' and her ill-manners. Then he realized that he was thinking about her again. Her parents had ignore her as they were busy eating. They were not complaining about their food.

Thrain was frustrated, he tried to please the princess but didn't know how; as he never had anyone that was so particular at his dining table. Until her father finally said, "Just don't mind her, has been like that since she was little, we just learn to ignore her, either she eats or she starves, her choice." He then continued eating without waiting for Thrain's reply.

Thorin shrugged at his father who then shook his head and began to eat.

Soon, Gruffidel, seeing that she was ignored by everyone began to eat. Thorin saw that her parents were right.

_I can't marry her! I'd drown her before we even say I do! _Thorin thought to himself as he took another drink.

_Maybe that was why her parents were eager to marry her off because she was thoroughly obnoxious and impossible._

Thorin thought more about the situation and almost laugh out loud; recalling the dagger incident, this little princess would not last after the first throw. He grinned when he recalled ThoraLee's glint in her eyes when she threw that dagger at her brother, missing him deliberately. He had seen the way she threw the dagger; exactly how long did she spend her time with those elves? They were almost deadly accurate. Then he remembered the open wound in her ear; he had sliced her ear opened with the deadly dagger because she was distracted and she was yelling at her…

"…are you listening to me?" Gruffidel was glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, my lady, I was day dreaming. What were you saying?" Thorin asked her. He realized with a shock he was thinking of that insufferable female again.

Gruffidel repeated as she looked about her imperiously, "I said, when we are married, I will make sure these drafty halls will be changed."

Thorin leaned forward, "But we're not married yet, princess."

"I know. But we will be. You will find the Arkenstone just like my father promised me. And then, I will change things around here."

Thorin said nothing but mutter under his breath…_over my dead body unless I drown you first in a bucket of water._

"As for your outfits," she continued. "I will be bringing my valet and steward to dress you."

"Um no. I have my own." Thorin shook his head.

"Your valet has no taste and dresses you ghastly. Really Thorin, let me handle everything. This whole palace needs a new change." Gruffidel said proudly.

Thorin slammed his drink down and stood up; he has had enough of her and her high handed attitude.

"Let me tell you, Princess whatever-your-name and I-don't-care-what-it-is. Before you go about redecorating a single dust in this palace, I must remind you that the Queen of Erebor is still alive and very well. You will never replace her ever. Good night, father, King Gul Mored, and Queen Pri, pray forgive me."

Thrain stood up and tried to get his son's attention who did stopped by his side, "I'm sorry but she is driving me crazy."

"I know but don't leave me by myself with them!" Thrain looked desperately at his son.

"Father, I'm sorry, I just can't." He quickly fled from the dining halls.

…

Back in his private quarters, he found his steadfast friends waiting for him, beer in hand already.

As he grabbed his beer and drank gratefully; preferring his beer to wine as they were too sweet for him.

"Well, how did it go?" Balin asked.

Quickly, Thorin told them the purpose of Gul Mored's visit, adding the insufferable princess.

"Goodness, is she a hoity-toity snooty one. She'll make you a good and wonderful wife," Dwalin teased him.

Thorin reached over a big piece of bread and threw it at his friend who ducked away fast, avoided the mass of baked yeast and flour.

"Oi! Here now, you are not those twins!" Balin shook his head.

"Indeed, those twins are nothing but bad influence!" Dwalin laughed.

Thorin glared at his friends. "Speaking of the twins, are you still decided on your trip?"

"Aye, and very soon." Balin and Dwalin nodded.

They spent the rest of the night discussing about their trip to the mountains

….

End of Chapter 8

**Author's Note – As you can see, if you're a Tolkien follower, you'll know that the Arkenstone was already in Erebor but not in this story. Here, Thror, Thorin's grandfather had been dead a while back and the Arkenstone was never found. I hope I have not confused anyone yet, this will be explained in later chapters, just bear with me!**

**Thank you!**


	9. Chapter 10

Coming Of Age – Chapter 9

"Father, you've got to do something about _her_!" Thorin pled with the King. "She tried to drive Crimm away."

"Son," Thrain shook his head. "Not now. I have to deal with the father…and the mother."

"I'll take them any day."

Thrain barked as he tried to read a report. "What did she do now?" They were alone in the king's private chambers; they were assured that they would not be disturbed by their guests who had been staying for two days and the Durins were ready to send them on their way.

"She told Crimm that he was old and that I should have a younger valet that knows what to do, and how knows how to keep up with the latest fashion so that he does not embarrass the Durin's family. Crimm tried to tell that he had been with the family for over 60 years and only the king have the power to fire him. So she told him that it won't be long that she, as queen also has the power to tell him that he will be too old to work with the family. Of course poor Crimm was beside himself. He and most of the servants in the kitchen, she was telling them how to cook! Can you believe that?"

"If only the damn Arkenstone were to be somewhere else…" Thorin stopped talking as his father looked up from his reading to his son.

"What did you say?"

"If the Arkenstone was somewhere else! That's it!" Thorin smiled.

Thrain nodded, "We must somehow get that idea to the dumpling." It was their nickname for Gul Mored, just between father and son.

"Yes, but that idea must be subtle so that it should be from him when he announced his departure. It should never come from us."

Thrain nodded as he gave the idea some more thought, "Yes, that could work. But who should whisper to him first?"

"Hmmm…someone from within his people but a trusted servant," Thrain looked at his son.

"And I know the right person, leave it to me…or the loose tongue servants in the kitchen."

Thrain nodded as he went back to his reading, "Thorin, your mother has been asking about you, she is well enough to receive you."

Thorin smiled as he stood up, "Thank you father. I shall look in upon her."

He sprinted away as if he was 10 again. Thrain looked up to see him running like a young lad and smiled; he missed his children when they were young and rambunctious.

When Thorin went to his mother's private chambers, he knocked on her doors gently and quietly, mindful of his newborn sister.

_Come in._

He walked in cautiously and looked around; his mother was sitting up by the large window where the sun was streaming in, she was busy embroidering.

She smiled and held her hand when she saw her son, "Come Thorin, come closer here, let me see you. It's been ages since I last saw you, my dearest. Oh dear, it looks like you've been wrestling wargs again. What happened to your face?"

Thorin went to hug her mother tightly but not too tightly; she looked so fragile.

"I'm fine, mother. I missed you." He snuggled into her neck like he use to when he was small; she had this special smell about her that made him feel secure when she hugged him.

She laughed, "My silly Thorin, I missed you too. Tell me what have you been up to?"

For the next hour, he sat with her as he told her everything, his meeting with the twins and the script text his father wanted ThoraLee to translate in search of the Arkenstone.

She was quick to pick things between her son and this female twin. It was the way he describe her, in a very angry tone.

Time to test him;

"So this Flora…she is pretty?"

"Her name is ThoraLee, mother. Not really, well sort of pretty, slender and can swim, and can run fast, throws a dagger very well, too." The Queen's brow perked up; clue number one, he was quick to correct her her name. Clue number two is the way he tried not to describe her too much.

She wanted to laugh at her son but knew that he would not appreciate it. He was so transparent yet so naïve.

"I see, when may I meet her?" she asked him.

Startled, Thorin looked at her and began to laugh, "Oh no! Not you mother."

"What? What did I do?" She asked innocently.

"You are trying to match-make. I see your ruse, nice going…"At this point, he heard a baby crying nearby. He stood and saw a crib.

"Can you go pick your sister and bring her here? Don't you want to meet Dis?"

Thorin nodded and moved over to the crib and looked down and saw a little baby with a head full of dark curls, bright dark eyes and small flailing hands, wearing a snow white gown.

"But I'm afraid I'll break her bones, she looks so tiny and fragile."

His mother laughed, "No you won't, Thorin my dearest. You'll be gentle with Dis."

Her crying was getting louder but Thorin bent down and placed both his hands under her and gingerly picked her up and held her close to him.

Instantly, she stopped crying.

"Hmm, she seemed to like her older brother," his mother remarked.

Thorin was in awe as he watched the tiny baby in his arms cooing at him, smiling.

"M...Mother, what am I supposed to do?"

She giggled, "Talk to her, she seemed to like your voice,"

Thorin looked at his mother to see if she was teasing him but she arched a brow at him

He stared at his little sister who stared back at him than she reached out and grabbed his hair and yanked it hard.

"Ow!" He moved over to his mother who laughingly helped him extricated him from her tiny hold. "She has a strong grip already. Which is good, when some boys try to bully you, you are able to take care of yourself, aren't you, little Dis? My strong little sister?" Thorin was enthralled with her.

The Queen teared up a little to see a grown man showing his protectiveness for his sister already. It cheered her up very much. The confinement had bored her; she was ready to get back to her court and her people.

After a while Dis began to get restless and began to fuss.

The Queen knew that it was probably time to feed the baby, "Thorin, hand me Dis, it's time to feed her."

"Oh, yes…here," He laid his sister on his mother's hands and spontaneously gave her a kiss on her forehead. His mother was surprised by his sweet gesture and smile at him.

"Um…I have to go…I'll come back again, if you wish?"

"Thorin, you know you're welcome to visit whenever you wish, and you may bring this Flora with you."

"Her name is ThoraLee, mother. I love you." He kissed her on her cheek and left her.

She watched him leave as she prepared to feed her daughter, "Oh yes, Dis, your brother is besotted with the lovely ThoraLee. And yes, I remember her name, don't I...little one?" Dis stared back at her mother; she was much more interested in her food than big people talk. She didn't understand their babble at this point, just feed her and leave her to sleep was all she wanted to do.

…..

End of Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 11

Coming Of Age – Chapter 10

As it turned out, the Nogrod family stayed for another day. The power of servant gossips proven once again true as it travelled faster than lightning.

No sooner than Thorin uttered casually in the hallways about the 'rumors' of the location of the Arkenstone being somewhere else other than in and around Erebor or the Lonely Mountains than it soon reached the ears of Gul Mored and his wife. As fast as you can pour oil into a lamp, the Nogrods were already busy packing. They would have been gone much earlier had it not been delayed by their precious daughter and a private meeting between both Kings.

The first was Gruffidel who made her servants repacked her trunks five times before she was satisfied.

The second was a hurried meeting requested by Gul Mored who had wanted to break off the alliance between the Nogrod and the Durin pack. He even tore the contract in half! He was very convinced that the Arkenstone would not be found within the Lonely Mountains and that he did not wished to marry his precious daughter off to Thorin who had no claims to anything. A kingdom with no importance was worthless in his eyes; he was unworthy to marry his daughter.

So the pact was null and void.

Thrain argued in anger; pointing out that they had not even began to search for the Arkenstone but Gul Mored casually wave him off, telling him that he would have found the Stone already as it was such an important Stone. Obviously, the Stone, according to Gul Mored and his excellent anonymous source, it was in an anonymous location. He refuse to tell Thrain where it was for fear Thrain himself would send an army to look for the Stone and keep it for himself.

Thrain had to keep from laughing at his absurdity. But Gul realized he had wasted precious time and hopped off his seat and waving his farewell to his friend, set off from the palace. It was a noisy affair that took a long time in departing, delayed once again by the Princess herself because she was not satisfied with the way the servants had packed the cases into the carriages.

At last, near noon, three hours past the time they were to depart, the Nogrods and their enormous household servants and guards finally departed.

The Durin family was never so pleased to have the palace back to the quiet self again, as well as their servants. The royal family gave the entire staff the rest of the day off! The servants were grateful and took off for a much need respite to recuperate from the Nogrods, they hoped they had seen the last of them!

….

Back to the twins in Dale, who were lucky to have spared from dealing with the Nogrods. They did see them passing through. The entourage took almost a whole day to ride through Dale that the residents were quite curious as to who it was that were visiting the Durin family; many were not familiar with the Nogrod banner as they did not travel much. But they knew they were royalty from the uniforms the guards were wearing as well as the household servants that were passing through.

The twins had wondered why they had not heard from their new friends for a while; they had company, royal visitors according to the banners.

Although Balin and Dwalin were off being elsewhere, they did not join in with the Nogrods nor did they visit with the twins; they had other errands to run.

They learned that they were from a neighboring dwarf kingdom called Nogrod. Lee did not realize there were other dwarf cities out there, she had always thought Dale was the principle city for all dwarves living around Erebor.

As she stood by the side of the road with some of the children watching the procession riding by, she caught a glimpse of a very pretty female dwarf who seemed to not care for what was going outside of her carriage, unlike the others that went pass her.

The children waved at her but she ignored her.

"Well, will you look at her, Lee?" Bels frowned at the passing carriage.

Lee nodded, "She must be somebody important or something, maybe even a princess," Lee shrugged.

Bels shook her head, "I hope not. We don't want a princess like that to marry our Prince Thorin. Yuck!"

Lee smiled as she looked at her little friend, "Well, I hope so. He is so proud and arrogant; he deserved her, all right."

"What's ar..arro…arrowwhat?" Bels asked.

Lee laughed, "Arrogant, it means full of himself, very self assured, and also very proud."

Suddenly a very low male voice came from behind them, "You ladies are not talking about me, are you?"

Lee, Bethina and some of the other kids, startled, whipped their heads around to see whose voice it belonged to!

"YOU!" Lee shouted, her face a shade of red.

"Yes, me," Thorin smiled.

The children's eyes were as big as saucer as they recognized their Prince.

"What are you doing here? And what are you doing sneaking around again?" She asked angrily.

The children had stepped away from Lee as they had never seen her talking so rudely to a Prince; they were afraid she was going to get her head chopped off; they knew that was the punishment for being insolent to the royal family…whatever insolent meant.

"Sneaking again? What do you mean again?" His eyes flashed angrily at her.

"You were sneaking a peek into my bedroom window the other day, that was how I found you, so sneaking AGAIN." She said angrily.

The children became fascinated by their arguing, "Ooohed' at him.

Thorin realized they had a mini audience glared at them who shrank behind Lee at once.

"You're frightening the children, Thorin." She pointed out.

"I can see that."

"Is he going to chop your head off, Lee?" Bels whispered to her.

Lee shook her head and laughed. Thorin arched his brow at the little girl and shook his head, "Come here, little one. I'm not going to hurt her. We…we are friends, right?" he looked at Lee for confirmation.

She smiled at Bels and nodded, "Yes, sweetie, we are friends."

Bels' eye brightened, "Oooh, Lee? Are you going to marry Prince Thorin?"

The children "Oooh'ed" again at her, Lee was blushing deeply as she shook her head.

"Look, Thorin and I are just friends. That's it. I mean he knows Jor, too."

"Ooohhh, she calls him Thorin, not Prince Thorin. If you ask me, I think she is her girlfriend." An older female dwarf girl was laughingly teasing Lee. The rest of the group burst out laughing.

Lee shook her head and looked over at Thorin, "Are you going to help me out?"

Thorin shook his head, "No way, these kids are merciless. If I say something, they will skewer me. I'm staying out of this." He then gave her a smile.

"Oh man! He smiled at Lee! Whooow!" They laughed even more.

"Okay, that does it. Shoo! Go home you imps! I have to get to work!" Lee glared at them.

Bels peeked at Thorin, then at Lee, "Are you going to kiss her when we leave?"

"Go home, Bels! Or I'm going to tell you momma to give porridge for supper tonight."

Bels' face fell, "Aw no, not porridge! I hate porridge. Fine, I'll go home."

She waved to ThoraLee and turned to leave but at the last moment turned back and yelled, "LEE, IF PRINCE THORIN KISSES YOU, YOU MUST TELL ME!" then she waved and was gone, skipping happily down the road with her laughing friends.

"In your dreams, Bels, in your dreams, child," Lee covered her face with her hands as she shook her head.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Thorin asked innocently.

She mumbled in her hands.

"Um, I didn't understand that."

She put her hands down and eyed him, "If I said, yes, would you believe me?"

Thorin grinned, "No. But I just want to check on your ear. I would have come earlier but we had …er guests."

"So, I gathered."

Thorin shook his head and told her of the Nogrods and their ridiculous daughter.

She was laughing hard by the time he got to their departure.

"I can't believe your father begged you to stay. How sad of you to bail on him."

"Honestly, he was much better at diplomacy than I am, I would have drowned them in the fountain first chance."

That made Lee laughed more.

Thorin watched her, he enjoyed watching her laugh.

Then he saw her ear and reached over to touch it.

She stopped laughing and jerked back on instinct.

"I'm sorry, does it still hurt?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Not really, just when you touch it. I never got the chance to thank you for patching it. So, thank you."

Thorin shrugged, "It's nothing. After all I was the one who cut you in the first place so I should be the one who should apologize to you."

"But you already did, I think," she frowned. "I don't remember much of that day…all I remembered were those glasses of wine you kept making me drink them." She also remembered vaguely about that kiss;

Thorin shrugged, "It was supposed to numb the pain," he recalled that day as he stared at her jaw; her soft smooth jaw. His hand tingled as he remembered the sensation.

"Thorin? Is everything all right?" She asked.

He nodded, "Why?"

"Your face suddenly turned red, thought you're going to faint or something," she continued to stare at him.

"I'm fine."

He then changed the subject by asking about her brother.

"Jor is very excited about this trip to the Misty Mountains with Masters Balin and Dwalin. He is also very nervous about meeting this Master Odin, he sounds very formidable." Lee peeked at him and continued, "Have you met him?"

Thorin shook his head, "No I have not."

"Oh."

Thorin glance her way and said, "Don't worry. He will take on your brother. Your brother's skill is quite good, almost as good as mine," he teased her.

Lee glanced up and chuckled, then playfully pushed him. But Thorin was made of sterner stuff, as if she was pushing a stone pillar.

"Oof!" She huffed when she almost fell but he caught her and held her close to him.

Thorin stared into her eyes, first her green one than the amber, than back to the green and he saw they had changed into a mix of different hue of green going from dark to medium and then to almost brown.

"Oi! Lee!"

Thorin looked beyond her and saw a stocky female dwarf with an armful of clothing heading their way.

"Um, I'll meet you at your father's house," without waiting for her reply he made a hasty retreat.

"Well, Lee! I'm so glad to catch you…um, is that the Prince? Prince Thorin?" Shoshin was busily craning her neck trying to get a glimpse of him; Bels must have told her about him.

_Great, just what we needed, the town fastest gossip_, Lee muttered to herself.

"Um, just a friend, Shoshin, he's here to see father and Jor," she informed her.

Deflated, Shoshin thought she was going to get some first-hand gossip.

"Can I do anything for you, Shoshin?"Lee asked.

"Oh! I nearly forgot, you know me, I get so distracted so easily," she began to laugh. Lee wanted to agree; the female dwarf was great in her work but also great when it came to gossip.

She handed Lee the armful of clothing and said, "I made these yesterday, I..I..just want to thank you for saving my Bels and I don't know how to repay you..so I thought since I have so many material left, I thought I'd make you a few dresses, just in case you have some party to go to. I know you don't have many dresses, your father told me that the other day. But now you do."

Shocked, Lee shook her head, "Shoshin, you shouldn't have, I can't repay you."

Shoshin shook her head, "No payment, well. You saved my girl, this is the least I can do. I can't do much but I can make something for you, my dear. Please accept it. It fits you since I used the measurement from your dress. Please?"

Lee teared at her gesture, hugged and thanked her for the dresses. She knew they cost a bit but she was not going to argue further, it would insult the other lady more.

Happy, Shoshin nodded, "Good, I hope you'll enjoy them, I pick the colors according to your eyes, and…and…well, whatever…I don't know! I just had fun making them. So enjoy wearing them. I have to go! I have more work to do."

She turned to wave at her as she walked away and headed to her home.

Lee was left with an armful of dress as she walked back to her home.

…..

Lee was surprised to see Thorin sitting by himself in the living room when she entered her home. She set her new clothes down on a bench by the wall next to the entrance door way.

"Um, you could have gone round to the work shop, you know the way. Father and Jor are working in there." She said, standing by the chair near him.

Thorin shook his head, "I came to see you Lee," he began. "My father had asked us to begin the translation."

Lee nodded as she slid into a chair across from him; she had promised his father to work on the Ancient Runic translation in the text script.

"When?

"Now?" He replied.

Lee arched an eye to him, "So …soon. I…I have to get some things ready, um…I need to take my books, and papers…I need time, Thorin."

"How much time Lee?" He asked her quietly.

She looked around, "Will I be able to come home in the evenings?"

Thorin shook his head, "I'm afraid not. You see, the text is very fragile; it's over thousands of years old. It has to be handled as carefully and as little as possible. The room where the text is stored is a specially enclosed room, no windows, a very small door, so very little air can get in."

Lee's eyes were wide as she said, "You mean I'll be locked in that room for days? Until I translate the text?"

"Well, not exactly. You can leave the room but not the palace."

She nodded, "I understand; it wouldn't make sense to travel back and forth Dale and Erebor every day. The more time I spent translating the text the faster I'll get it done."

He nodded.

"Wait, you said, we? Do you mean you and me?"

He nodded again.

"But I thought I'll be doing it alone?"

He shook his head, "Sorry Lee, you can't be by yourself."

She looked at him closely and saw the implication, "Wait a minute Thorin! If you think I'm going to make off with the text… you've got to be joking!"

He was not laughing, "I'm sorry; these are my father's instructions."

She pursed her lips as she stood up and walked about the room, then said, "This room does not have any windows but a door, a small door, let me ask you where I would go?"

Thorin shrugged, "I agree but all the same I'll be in there with you but no fear, I'll be busy as well."

"With?" She prompted.

"Sorry, it's something private," he smiled at her.

She shrugged, "Fine, just keep out of my way while I work."

"Not a problem, princess. So when will you be ready?"

She thought for a moment, "Well, I have to tell my father and Jor, pack my books and clothes, so an hour?"

He nodded and sat back down, "I'll wait for you."

As it turned out, it was more than an hour before she was ready.

Erimm was sad to see her go but he knew that it was an important work she was about to do, so at the same time he was proud of her. Jor was also sad; it would be the first time the twins would be separated for a length of time, he himself would be heading out on a journey of his own soon and if the old master metal smith did take on Jor, he would be spending an even longer time away from Lee. Their parting was not a happy one.

When Lee left, she watched Jor, feeling uneasy as if something bad was would befall on one of them. Then she shook her head, trying to shake off the bad fugue; think positive, she would see her brother one day soon!

Packing the pony with her books and clothes; she left the new dresses behind as there wasn't any room in the bags, ThoraLee and Thorin rode off towards Erebor.

The ride was quiet as they did not know what to say to each other, only that each felt conscious of the other.

Finally, ThoraLee couldn't bear it any longer as it was not in her nature to not talk.

"Have you seen the text?"

Thorin who was deep in thought of his own was startled by her sudden voice; his body was jerked out of his reverie.

"Oh! I'm so sorry to have woken you; I didn't know you were asleep," Lee apologized.

Thorin shook his head, "I was not asleep," he replied. "Merely deep in thoughts. And yes, I did look at it briefly."

She nodded, "And you're sure it's the Dwarven runes?"

Thorin looked at her with a frown, "Of course it is, what else would it be?" He said haughtily.

Defensively, she glared back and said, "Well, it could be in Elvish. Both our written languages in written form are very much similar."

Thorin glared back, "I'm well aware of it and I do know the difference. It was written in the ancient Cirth language for your information. Our language, thank you very much." Without another word, he rode ahead of her, he did not speak to her the rest of the way even when they reached the palace.

Lee closed her eyes and took a deep breath and let it out, trying to contain her temper; her father had warned her to control it while she was away, she didn't promise him but that she would try. She was glad because at this moment not less than two hours since they had left Dale, she'd already broken her words. This Prince was simply impossible! All she did was asked a casual question and he had turned it into an all out battle! Certainly, it was not her fault that she lost her temper.

Fine, if he didn't want to talk, so be it. She could play his little childish game.

They were silent as Thorin led her to the Receiving Halls where his parents were seated at the Throne atop the dais. Balin and Dwalin were standing to a side on their left. Balin and Dwalin was waving cheerfully at her.

Thrain nodded at her as Thorin brought her forward to his parents, "Well, finally. I am glad to see you made it here safe and well, my dear." The King smiled and said.

Lee bowed low to him and then straightened was suddenly self conscious; she was not dressed for court! Damn Thorin for not telling her!

"ThoraLee, may I present my wife, Nur."

"Your Majesty, I beg your pardon, pray forgive my state of dishevelment, I was unaware that I was to meet with you. If I had known, I …" Lee let the word fade as she glanced at Thorin who still refused to look at her.

Queen Nur shook her head as she smiled, "Not at all, child. Thrain, she is delightful and so very pretty. ThoraLee, it will be all right, we do not stand on ceremony here. Come, let's go and have supper. I believe you have not had any?" She asked as she stepped off the dais, her husband helping her down. But she waved him off, taking Lee's hand as both female dwarves walked ahead of the males toward the dining halls.

King Thrain shook his head as he looked at his rejected proffered elbow, "Well, she's back from confinement."

Thorin smiled as he followed his sire and his friends followed behind him, "Aye, sire. We did missed her while she was away."

….

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 12

Coming Of Age - Chapter 11

ThoraLee found herself seated beside Balin and Dwalin, across from Thorin, the King and Queen on the opposite end of the table.

It was, as the queen stated, a simple affair. They were served basket full of freshly baked yeasty bread, freshl and succulently cooked deer meat that was plump and juicy with cooked vegetables on the side. There were fresh fruits served as well as jugs of wine and ale.

As the queen was seated to Lee' left, she was able to ask her many questions, many domestic questions. In short, Nur was able to learn that Lee was motherless from when she was a baby, she was more or less brought up by elves until the age of about ten, back to living with the dwarves in Dale, she grew up being the only female in the household, learning how to cook, wash, and clean, as well as work on her main love; her etchings and metal work.

The queen was delighted with her, Thorin could see. She had monopolized Lee most of the evening and he was glad his mother liked her. As they ate, he was able to watch her talking animatedly with his mother: her pretty mixed eyes sparkling in the reflection of the torches from the fireplace near the dining table.

He couldn't stop watching her. Balin and Dwalin saw that Thorin was distracted with the young lass all evening; the two were smiling all evening.

"Thorin, do you know Lee learned how to swim at a tender age of three? Oh my, I don't even know how to do it. I'm afraid of the deep water myself!" Nur was appalled when somehow they got to the subject of the lake in the elves' woods.

Thorin smiled and said, "Not only that but did you know she saved a little girl a few days ago from drowning?"

Nur's eyes were as wide as saucers as she looked from her son to her and then her son, and then to Lee again, "No…you mean you swam into the deep water, and you saved a little girl…Oh my, tell me all the details, I must hear it…wait…Thrain!" She yelled at her husband who was conversing with Balin when she interrupted him.

"Yes, my dearest?"

"Thorin was saying ThoraLee saved a little girl from the deep water, she can swim!"

Thrain arched a brow at the young female dwarf who was blushing deeply at this time; Thorin was watching her…proudly.

"What is this? What happened?"

Thorin then told them what he saw, from the time little Bels slipping into the deeper part of the lake to Lee rescuing her, and giving her the breath of life.

When he was done, everyone was silent except for Balin and Dwalin who had heard the story before and were nodding their heads in agreement, and then Thrain stood up and held his mug up and toasted to her, the others stood up as well, except for the queen. "Well, let's hear it for our pretty heroine! To ThoraLee for saving a little girl's life! ThoraLee!"

Lee, feeling deeply red, tried to hide her face was not used to the attention being centered on her.

Fortunately, the sound of a crying baby took everyone's attention from Lee as a nurse entered the halls with a Dis.

Nur held her hands for her daughter, "Oh, I see someone did not want to retire for the night. I guess she wants to join in the festivities."

But Dis was fussy, she kept crying as her mother held her, Lee was fascinated with the new princess.

"ThoraLee, meet Dis, my newest love," the queen smile as the baby continued to fuss, her chubby face red with anger, eyes barely opened filled with tears, and her hands flailing.

To everyone's surprise, Thorin stood up and went to her, "Mother, may I?" He thought he could calm her as he had done it before.

"Of course, my son," the Queen nodded at him as she smiled in delight.

Thorin bent down and picked up his little sister carefully.

Lee was smiling despite herself, to see a big man like Thorin going soft on a little baby.

Dis became quiet as she did before much to the delight of the queen but a few minutes later, Dis became discontented again and began to squall at the top of her lungs.

"Quite a set of lungs, she has, takes after her old man," Thrain said proudly as he looked at his daughter in awe.

Balin and Dwalin laughed with him.

Lee could tell Thorin was getting frustrated, so she stood up and went to him, "May I?"

Thorin looked at her skeptically and then with a shrug, "Sure, you can try it but she's a fighter, just like her brother."

Lee arched a brow at him and they exchanged hands, their hands brushed lightly as they looked at each other; Lee' s heart jumped a few paces too fast at his touch. Then Lee, holding the angry baby in her arms began to gently rock her, and baby-talked her as she walked around the halls. Soon, Dis became less fussy and began to coo'ed and gurgled back to Lee and became sleepy, rubbing her eyes with her chubby hands. Soon, the gently rocking lulled her to sleep, along with Lee's soothing humming.

Nur was impressed, "Well, ThoraLee, that was quite impressive. I'm impressed."

"So are we." Balin and Dwalin said together, quietly.

She shrugged, "The rocking helps, I guess. And I got lucky. Might not the next time."

The nurse, who was standing aside, came to take the baby back to her room, thanked her gratefully and left.

"What other miracles can you do?"Thorin asked her his expression almost sour.

"What?"She said as she sat down in her seat.

"Thorin!" His mother almost yelled at him. "That was rude of you."

"Well, it seems she can do everything," he flung his hands about him.

"I wish, Thorin." Lee said. "I can't fight like you. I can't go to battle like you." She was leaning forward.

He did likewise, "So, you want to be in the battle? You want to fight against those orcs? And those nasty wargs? You have no idea what it's like to see those nasty stinking animals tearing your friends' limbs to pieces as you…

"Thorin! Not at my table you are not discussing this here!" His mother smacked her hand down hard. Startling both of them.

Thorin pointed it at her, "She started it first!"

"You were sounding almost jealous!" Lee yelled back at him.

"Jealous? In your dreams!"

Balin, Dwalin and Thrain shook their heads as they ignored them as they began to drink more of their beer. The queen, however, had not seen them quarrelling did not know what to make of them as she stared from one to the other as they volley harsh words back and forth.

"You were being jealous, Thorin! Admit it! You can't stand it that I am better than you!"

"Ha! You're a female! You are not any better! I can squash you like a bug anytime!"

"A bug? I am not as weak as a…a…bug. You…you… scum!"

"Gnat! You are nothing but an insignificant gnat I step on and not think twice about it!" He smirked at her.

"Are they always like that?" the queen yelled at the top of her voice to Balin and Dwalin.

"Worse!" They nodded, only this time, Thrain added his voice as well. The queen stood up and moved away from them and stood beside her husband, holding his hand. The other two continued to argue.

"They will make a perfect couple." She observed calmly.

Thrain nodded, "Aye."

"Indeed, they will," Balin nodded.

"Just needed to knock their heads together first."

"Aye." Balin, the queen and king said together.

"They do look good together." Dwalin said after a long pause as the two continued to argue.

"They'll have pretty children," the queen commented, as she smiled softly.

"Provided they can stop arguing long enough to …you know…" Thrain raised his eyebrows and grinned.

The queen blushed; Balin and Dwalin guffawed as they took another drink, "Indeed!"

As their arguments ran its course and they ran out of things to yell at, they realized they were by themselves at one end of the dining table and then glancing to the other end, they saw the others at the other end watching them.

"What are they talking about?" Thorin asked as he saw the others watching him and Lee.

Lee shook her head, "They probably have had enough of our arguments."

"Were we loud?" He frowned.

"Quite. I'm sure your mother is quite shocked."

Thorin shook his head, "You should have seen, she and father used to argue as loudly as we do."

Lee raised an eyebrow at him, "They do? Wow."

Thorin nodded, "Not as much but back then when we were little, it used to frighten Frerin."

Lee frowned, "Frerin? Oh, he's your younger brother. Where is he, anyways?"

"Father had sent him for more battle training."

"I see."

Over to the other side;

The four dwarves observing the two saw that they had stopped arguing.

"Look, they are not shouting at each other anymore." Balin said.

"I guess, they ran out of things to argue." Nur smiled at Thrain, remembering those old days when they used to argue a lot.

Thrain smiled at his wife, "Yes, they must have."

"Or a temporary truce," Dwalin suggested.

"Whatever it is, let's hope it will last long enough to get to our business about the translation."

"Agreed."

"Shall we get to it now before they get their second wind?"

Thorin looked over to his parents who nodded to him and Lee and they all sat down.

Thorin sat beside her this time, the king and queen took their seats and Dwalin and Balin excused themselves as they still had much to prepare themselves for their forthcoming trip to the Misty Mountains.

Before they began, the servants were dismissed for the evening, after they had cleared their dinner leaving the drinks behind.

As soon as they were alone, Thrain began;

"ThoraLee, did my son explained to you the sensitivity of this situation?"

Lee nodded.

"Good, and you have not spoken to anyone about it? Aside from your father and brother?"

She shook her head, "My father knows to be discreet, as is my brother."

He nodded, "Now Thorin also told you about how fragile the text is? That the room is made specifically for keeping the text's longevity, so there will be no windows and a very small door. And I do apologize that my rule is you're not to be left alone in the room by yourself."

Lee nodded, "I understand, your Majesty but I still don't understand, I am not going to steal the text, I assure you. This is your family's heritage and I know that it is very important for you. I would not do anything to hurt you or anyone in your family."

Touched, Thrain said, "I'm thankful. But there is something else in the room that needs to be protected and that's where Thorin comes in, so whether you'll take them or not, he's still has to be there to protect it. I'm sorry my dear, my word is final."

"Oh."Lee said. "I understand completely, your Majesty. I told him that as long as he keeps out of my way, I'll be fine working on the text."

Thrain stared at his son who shook his head slightly and looked away, he was grinning.

"Well I see, very well. As soon as the text is translated, I'll read it and take care of the rest," Thrain said.

She smiled and nodded.

Thrain then continued, "Now, I'm going to ask you again, what do you want in return for translating this work for me?"

ThoraLee shook her head, "Your Majesty, as I had said before, nothing. I do not want anything, sir."

"Wait!"Thorin held out a hand as he looked at her. "You mean you agree to do this work without payment?"

She nodded.

"I don't believe you."

She glared at him, "What is your problem?"

"You are doing this work for my father, for the Durin family, for free?"

She nodded again.

He shook his head. "I don't believe it. You must have a hidden agenda. No one in their right mind would volunteer to do this without compensation. I find it hard to believe. Come on Lee, tell the truth. What do you want? Some jewel? Gold?"

She shook her head, "Thorin, I'm not that kind of dwarf or female. I don't desire gold, or jewels." Then she held her ring and said, "I love this ring, and I do not want anything else."

Thrain saw the ring and asked to see it, as well as the queen.

Lee took off the green diamond and gave it to Thrain.

"An unusual emerald."

Thorin shook his head and explained quickly that it was a green diamond and that her twin brother possessed the other.

Nur looked closely at his son; he seemed to know about the family a lot more than he led on.

"I agree with my son, to a degree," she held a hand up when she saw Lee was about to interrupt her. "Let me finish, child. You are not asking for any gold, nor more jewelry, what else is there but the Durin kingdom?"

ThoraLee shook her head vehemently as she stood up, "Why can't you all believe me? I. Don't. Want. Any. Thing." She looked at them one at a time, saving Thorin for last. "I like to help. I was brought up to help others. I was taught to help others. I don't know what else to say to convince you, to make you believe in me that I am telling you the truth."

Taking a deep breath, she sat down and waited.

"Well," Thrain announced. "If there are no more objections, shall we begin?" He looked around him.

His queen and his son shook their heads. Thrain smiled, "Show her the rooms son, and ThoraLee, good luck."

Nur nodded as she held out her hands to her which Lee took them, "ThoraLee, forgive me, I didn't meant to sound suspicious. Of course I'd love for you to help us, and thank you so much, my dear." Without warning, she hugged Lee.

Startled by her gesture, Lee stood slightly stiffly until the queen whispered in her ears, _if my son gives you a hard time, just knock him hard and he'll straightened up._

ThoraLee giggled and whispered back; _I have done it to him already, your Majesty._

Nur pulled her out of the hug and looked at her than she burst out laughing, a very unqueenly laugh.

Thorin and Thrain stared at them curiously. ThoraLee shrugged her shoulders as she grinned.

."Oh, Thrain!" Nur said when she regained her composure. "I do like this lass, yes I do." She wrapped her arm around Lee and squeezed her as hard as she could before her release her. "Go, go with my son, Thorin, my dearest, please treat her kindly or you'll have me to answer to."

Thorin nodded to his mother, "Yes, mother…I will."

Lee nodded and stepped over to where Thorin was waiting for her, holding a lit lamp.

She stopped Thorin, as she touched his shoulder slightly before she pulled away, "My things, I need my bags, the books and the papers."

He nodded, "I'll tell the guards to have them down to the basement.

They passed a guard before heading down the basement stairs, Thorin quickly told the guard to retrieve her belongings and set them in the basement.

"Basement?"

"Less air."

She nodded, beginning to feel nervous. "Right, less air."

He turned to look at her, "Are you regretting your decision?" He was puzzled; usually dwarves had no problem being underground as they worked in mines, in the underground, so far Lee seemed to show some fear for the underground; unusual.

She shook her head, "No, not at all…just a little bit nervous."

He stopped walking suddenly, Lee not watching almost ran into him as he quickly caught her, "Look, there's nothing to be afraid of, it might feel as if you're in a tomb but after a while it will pass."

"T...t…tomb?"

_Wrong choice of word_, thought Thorin as he shook his head. "Um, In a windowless room. You'll see when we get there, I'll be with you all the way, Lee."

"ThoraLee? We can leave and go back upstairs and …forget all about it," he tried not to sound disappointed, but she heard his disappoitment.

And she didn't want to disappoint him.

Straightening up her shoulders, she took hold of his arm, "Come on, let's go before I lose it again."

Looking down at her arm in his, and liking the feel of it, he smiled and nodded, "Aye, let's."

Smiling back at him, "Okay, lead the way, sir."

They descended five more levels before they reached the bottom rung of the steps and came upon a wooden door, he said, "This is the first room, a bed and some things in there that might make you feel comfortable."

He opened the door and led them through.

As they stepped in, Thorin lit a torch with the lamp he was holding and then set the lamp down on the shelf. The soft glow slowly brightened the room as ThoraLee looked about her;

The room was big and the air was stale but not very oppressive. There was a small bed neatly made against the far wall as well as there were a few empty shelves placed against the walls, one shelf was next to the small bed. As she looked around the shelving units, she decided that she would store some of her books of runic translation there.

Then she saw a small door, it was wooden with a gold handle, the top of the door barely passed the top of her head, for Thorin, he would have to bend down to pass through.

He opened small door, holding the lamp, "Ready?"

Lee passed through the door first into a dark area and Thorin ducking through the door, moved passed into the room and when he straightened up, he saw her standing close to him, a slight look of fear in her eyes.

He gave her an encouraging smile as he moved the lamp around looking for the …torch! Spotting it across the room, he moved towards it and lit it as well as another one he saw about twenty feet to his right.

Lee could now see the room clearly which circular in shape; indeed no windows but wooden walls all around. In the center of the circular room was a wooden pedestal where the transcript was kept. A glass encasement covered the pedestal, preventing further air or dust from degrading the text. The text, Lee could see was very old, the color was very yellow, its print almost faded but was still legible, thank Aulё.

"What do you think?" Thorin said softly.

Not taking her eyes off the text, she nodded, "You're right, it's in Cirth."

He grinned at her when she looked at him in defeat; she almost gasped! His features, despite the bruises still marring his cheeks, changed entirely. Maybe it was the play of the lights reflecting his face or it was his smile or perhaps both but ThoraLee suddenly found herself drawn to him. He was so…handsome? Princely? Good looking? Her inner voice was teasing her. She was attracted to him! Her heart skipped a couple of beats.

"Lee?" Something wrong?" He asked.

No answer.

"ThoraLee? Are you all right?" He was getting concerned, he was wondering if the lack of fresh air in the room was getting her.

He reached out and shook her, "ThoraLee! Hey!"

She blinked a few times and shook her head, "Yeah, I...I'm fine. What?"

"You kind of looked funny for a moment, are you sure you're all right?" He asked again.

She nodded again as she looked about her, not meeting his eyes.

Unaware, he picked up the glass encasement and lifting it completely out of the pedestal, he moved it away and set it down on the floor. Then he gently picked up the script and brought it to a table near the small door and set it down. ThoraLee did not see the table until now and saw that it had a chair with it. Thorin then brought the lamp and set it by the corner of the table, he didn't want to chance the lamp spilling over, thus destroying the text.

"Here, have a seat, you can take a closer look at it," he pulled the chair out.

She nodded as she did as he asked.

She looked at the cover of the text and read the page; it was indeed a very rare written Dwarven language called Cirth. Not many dwarves alive used this language to write anymore preferring the simpler form of Elvish written language or the Sindarin, some eldar went so far as to practice the _Tengwar._

"This script was written at the start of the Third Age; wow! It was very old, more than two thousand years old, Thorin!" She said excitedly.

Thorin grinned at her, he could hear the infectious tone in her voice, just like a child opening her very first present.

"Yes, that is what we have determined," he nodded.

Lee blushed deeply, "Oh yeah, of course you have, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep you. I'm sure you have figured out most of the text already," feeling shy.

Thorin wanted to run his hands on her blushed red cheeks, to feel the warmth on her skin, "No, not everything, or else why are you here?" he said softly.

"That's right. Um, I do need my books and papers before I can begin."

Thorin nodded, "Yes but it's getting late, why don't we begin in the morning. Get a good night's sleep and we'll begin in the morn. How's that?"

She looked around, "I'm going to sleep here by myself?" her eyes big as saucers.

Thorin chuckled as he shook his head and placed the text back on the pedestal before putting the glass encasement back on the pedestal. As he was replacing the glass encasement, Lee spotted a wooden box placed next the pedestal on the floor.

"What's that box?" She pointed at it as she caught a glimpse on the lid; it was a simple runic word that said; DURIN

He nodded at it, "It's the private matter I mentioned, that's in the box."

She nodded and went to the small door and waited for him.

"And no, as guest you'll be spending the night in the guest rooms upstairs tonight but starting tomorrow onwards, we'll be staying here." He led her out of the small room after he had extinguished the torches, and then he did the same to the first room and closing the door, they climbed back upstairs. She stopped them from walking further, "Wait, you said, we. But there's only one bed?"

Thorin nodded, "I have a bedroll, so nothing to worry about."

"I can't let you sleep on a bedroll!" She looked shock!

He looked at her and then said, "Are you offering to share your bed with me?"

She blushed instantly, "I…I…no…I …mean…they, um can bring another bed down here or something."

Thorin shook his head, "Where, might I ask, are they going to put the extra bed?"

Again, she blushed deeper, "Never mind, I guess the bedroll will have to do."

He nodded as he continued up, "That's what I thought."

She was silent the rest of the way.

As they looked around, they saw that his parents must have retired back to their chambers.

Thorin asked her if she was tired to which she shook her head, "No, it's kind of early actually. But if you're, um, if you could show me to my room, I can do some reading there till it's bedtime."

He shook his head and told her that it was early for him as well and asked her if she would like for him to show her the palace, Lee nodded enthusiastically and hooked her arm within his elbow and together, they took a walk around the palace; Thorin showing her the various Halls of Erebor.

They took their time as they walked slowly while he told her the rich history of his ancestors, some of them with very colorful past that rendered her into fits of laughter, some were sad. Of course they were all brave and valiant.

As they approached the vast gardens of Erebor, Lee was enchanted to see the old trees bent with ages, dipping their branches onto tiny riverlets that flow beneath them. In the center of the garden there was a huge flower bed where Thorin had told her his mother had lovingly tended various flowers growing and blooming emitting all kinds of fragrance.

"It smells so beautiful here, Thorin!" She had her eyes close as she breathed in the smells of the bloom.

"Yes…beautiful," Thorin repeated, his voice was soft.

She opened her eyes and looked at him and saw that he was not talking about the flowers and the garden; he was staring at her with a strange look.

She felt shy all of a sudden as she looked down at the ground, her chest was pounding as if she wanted to run but she found she couldn't as she was rooted to where was standing.

Thorin walked close to her until he was standing directly in front of her, her eyes were still cast down and she saw a pair of boots in front of her.

"Lee?" He said softly."

She didn't respond as her eyes were still down, her chest heaving nervously..

He lifted her chin up with his hand until she was gazing into his eyes; he was stroking her chin softly as he smiled at her. Then he leaned in and kissed her sweetly and lightly on her lips.

And then he kissed her again, this time he continued kissing her, deepening their kiss as he gathered her in his arms.

They kissed long and passionately under the glow of the full moon.

…

As they continued to kiss, unknown to them, the King and Queen were watching with approving looks.

"Come dear, I feel like voyeurs," Thrain was tugging on his wife's long sleeve.

Nur was smiling indulgently at her oldest son, "It's about time they're doing something other than arguing."

Thrain stopped tugging as he peeked over and glance at them; they were still kissing; _atta boy!_ He thought.

"She will make a good queen for him; young, smart, honorable, true, virtuous. Yes, she'll do." Nur declared wisely.

"Oh yes. She is very much like you; smart, young, pretty and rebellious." He agreed, teasingly.

Nur turned to glare playfully at her husband as she smacked him, "I'm not rebellious!"

"See! You just hit me, just proven to me." He smiled indulgently at her as he pulled her lovingly into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around him, "Careful, husband. I just might lock you out of my bed…again."

Thrain huffed at her, "Try that, wife, and watch what happened the last time you did that!"

She laughed as they retreated into their bedroom and closed the door, "Oh yes, I remembered, you broke down the door, frightened the guards and Dis came months later."

He kissed her lovingly, "Yes dear, bear that in mind, if you don't want me to break down another door again…" as he nuzzled her neck.

Later…much later as they lay in bed, Nur glanced up at her husband who was almost asleep and decided to shake him, "Thrain, wake up, I have something I want to talk to you."

Sleepily, he held her, "Can't you wait? I need sleep, my dear."

"Well, I can't, not till we talk about this, come on," she shook him again, this time a little harder.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake...stop, stop…I'm awake," he opened his eyes wider to show her his blue eyes. "Now what is it that's so important it can't wait?"

"It's about Thorin…and ThoraLee. And if I know my son, and I know him well, and how impulsive he can be. I'm afraid he will rush this whole thing."

Thrain shook his head, "Nur my love, you're not making sense…"

"What I'm trying to say is, they are in love now, and they will rush into this relationship and not think things through and…and…want to marry now!"

Thrain was now wide awake, "Hmmm, I see your point my dear, yes, they will want to make this a union. No, they're too young."

Nur nodded, "Exactly."

"What shall we do?"

"Just like what our parents made us do when we were young; wait."

Thrain nodded, "It's going to be hard on them, my dear."

"We did it. We persevered. We were strong, and we became stronger."

"Yes, we did. We can guide them. If they will let us."

"We'll help only if they need help, let them grow on their own, we did."

Thrain yawned hard, "Now, can we go to sleep?"

His wife nodded sleepily, her eyes drooping as she muttered, "Yes husband, go…get to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day, mark my word; our son will want to ask to wed the lovely ThoraLee…"

But Thrain had already drifted off to sleep dreaming of grandchildren, a slew of them with thick chubby legs and arms, flailing about in happiness as their parents running about trying to catch them, they were all laughing happily; one big happy family.

…..

On the other side of the Royal chambers, Dwalin and Balin were nodding their heads with approval as well, "Well brother," Balin said to Dwalin. "Pay up, I believe I won the wager this time round."

Dwalin frowned at him as he dug deep into his pockets and pulled out a bag of gold coins and tossed it at Balin, "I knew I shouldn't have bet with you."

Balin hefted the bag, eyeballing the weight of gold inside and nodding with satisfaction, pocketed the bag into his pants, "It's nice doing business with you," he said as he made a slight bow.

They were watching Thorin and Lee who were sitting close together on a stone garden bench their hands held together.

"It's about time those quarrelsome two got together. Maybe there will be some peace and quiet about us finally," Balin said as he took out his pipe and after putting an amount of tobacco, lit it and puffed it. Dwalin did likewise.

"Aye, there will be peace finally among the two and maybe they will stop hitting each other…accidentally."

Balin looked at Dwalin and then they laughed quietly, "I don't know, some part of me is going to miss it, I kind of got used to them arguing, it made for an interesting time spent around them."

Dwalin nodded, "You may have something there. Have no fear. They might still have the fire in them to fight and argue once in awhile, to keep their relationship afire."

They laughed at their own jokes.

…..

End of Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 13

Coming Of Age – Chapter 12

ThoraLee could not believe herself; she was snuggled within the arms of Thorin! If someone had told her she would be in love with a Prince in a week after she had turned 21 she would have scoffed at him or her! But here she was, under a blue full moon, in a garden profuse with fragrance upon fragrance of various beautiful colorful flowers and being kissed and loved by a handsome Prince beyond her wildest dreams. Definitely a romantic setting, in her eyes. She wanted to tell the whole world to be happy, that everyone should be happy, she could not help smiling, in fact she didn't think she would ever stop smiling, ever.

She hoped that when she awakened in the morn, it was not a dream!

As she yawned for the third time, she felt a low rumble beneath her; it was Thorin, he was chuckling at her.

"I think it is past someone's bedtime," he said, as he squeezed her gently.

She shook her head, "I'm not really tired, I want to stay here with you all night," she insisted, just as another yawn came over her.

He shook her gently, trying to get her to stand up, "Come my dear, to bed," he held his hand out to her.

Suddenly, he felt that they were no longer alone, he glanced about him and saw to his far right at the edge of the garden was a dark shadow. Thorin tensed immediately as his hand went to his side where his sword was, fingers at the ready on the hilt but he relaxed when he recognized the shape of the shadow as it came a little closer.

The shadow kept his distance as Thorin nodded his acknowledgement of his presence; luckily, Lee was oblivious to the presence.

"My dear, do you want me to carry you to bed like a baby?" he teased her.

She giggled sleepily as she shook her head and took his hand and stood up, "No, I'm capable of walking."

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Lee smiled at him, she was still shy with his touch. The way her heart beat wildly at his close proximity to her.

As they walked back within the palace, he held her hand as he led her to her bedroom.

They stood outside her bedroom door when he drew her into his arms again and kissed her slowly yet deeply.

After a long while, a low growl rumbled within from him as he separated their lips reluctantly.

"Go, ThoraLee!" he pushed her away from him, nudging her towards her bedroom door. "Go before I change my mind" he said and as soon as she was inside, he closed her door. "Do not open this door until the sun rises in the morn."

She leaned her forehead against the door on the inside of the bedroom, her lips was swollen with his passionate kisses, her hand on the handle of the door.

She heard his muffled voice; _Go to sleep my love, do not open this door but dream of me and I'll see you in the morn._

Lee nodded and whispered, "Good night, Thorin my love." She closed her eyes as she listened to his retreating steps fading away. Soon it was quiet.

She wanted to open the door to assure herself that he was gone but she remembered his frustrated growl and angry tone of voice and grinned.

She then laughed to herself as she straightened and removed away from the door and went to bed; it was a while before sleep claimed her.

….

Thorin walked slowly back to his quarters; his head full of thoughts of her. ThoraLee.

He couldn't believe it. He was irrevocably in love with her. Half way towards his rooms, he stopped and banged his forehead on the wall hard; how could he? How could they? They were really still very young; he was only 34, she 21; not even in their prime! Even though she had celebrated her Coming of Age not long ago, she was not considered an adult yet. Not till they turned 100.

His father was 200 years old and his mother only140; they didn't wed but 50 years ago!

His father had loved his mother very much and Thorin was told they were very young when they met and their courtship was a very long one. Could he and ThoraLee wait that long before they wed?

Maybe he and Lee would have the same kind of love, just like his parents did. But he didn't want to wait so long to wed! He wanted her this instant! He wanted the whole kingdom to know Lee was his.

Shaking his head, he chuckled as he began to walk; idiot! She would not appreciate if he became possessive of her. She was not a property. She was a living being. She was a creature created by the great Aulё, just like he, just like every dwarf in the Middle Earth. No, she would be respected. She would be treated like a Princess. His Princess.

He continued to grin as he entered his chambers and closed his door, he stopped immediately when he smelled it; tobacco smoke.

"I thought you had retired to bed, old man," Thorin said as turned around slowly.

"We need to talk, Thorin," Crimm said as he sat in the dark corner of Thorin's bedroom. He had watched his niece and the prince earlier in the garden. What he saw greatly concern him.

Thorin nodded as he moved into his room, he began to remove his shirt. "What do you want to talk about that cannot wait?"

Crimm took a puff of his pipe and blew out before he said one word, "ThoraLee."

Thorin stopped and slowly nodded, "I know what you're going to say, old man but I can assure you. I will take care of her."

Crimm then said, "Thorin, she is not only my only niece but more like a daughter to me. I do not want to see her hurt. She may seem strong on the exterior but inside, she is as fragile as a flower. Please don't break her heart."

"Crimm…"Thorin shook his head, "I love her."

"Thorin, you have been with others…and she has never…she..." his old eyes began to glistened.

Thorin shook his head, "Stop Crimm. I know I have lain with other female…but that was a very long time ago. And that was expected of me as a male and to tell the truth I…they were nothing. I mean they matter not to me nor I to them. But know this Crimm, Lee is the only one I want and there will be no other for me. Not ever."

Crimm saw that he meant it and nodded. He stood up and then said, "Well, I guess that is all I have to say. Good night, your Highness." And he was gone.

As he lain in bed later, Thorin thought of what he said to Crimm and he knew he meant it; Lee would be the only one for him. He had no desire for any other female. He wanted to marry her, she was his and he wanted the kingdom to know she now belonged to the house of Durin.

As he drifted off to sleep, he dreamt of his union with ThoraLee and then being blessed children and grandchildren. They were standing before him, the whole brood as they waved at him but then the dreams began to turn dark when the grounds they were standing cracked open and all his children fell in, ThoraLee included. He tried to grab for her hand but it slipped from her. The only thing he was able to hold in his hand was her green diamond ring.

He sat by the edge of the wide gaping hole as he yelled for her and his children till nothing came out of his voice.

Thorin jerked himself awake, gasping for air! Another horrifying vivid dream that shook him. He rub his face hard as he fell back on his pillow and tried to fall asleep again but the images kept returning, teasing him. He shook his head as he made himself forget about them, slowly as the moon began to lower itself, as the sun made its way up the early morning sky, Thorin finally fell into a much needed dreamless sleep.

….

While he slumbered, his new love was awakened before the sun rose. ThoraLee was too excited to sleep for long.

Before she had fallen asleep, she had thought of something important and knew what she had to do but it had to wait till morn…when the King was up. It was going to be very bold of her to do what she was about to do.

She was up early, as sleep eluded her. She sat by the window looking out the forest thinking long and hard about what she wanted to do and what she had to do. As the sun rose higher, she left her room and wandered the halls and went down to the corridors leading to the Receiving Halls. Two guards were standing on either side; Lee shyly approached one of them.

The guard snapped at at attention when she stood in front of him but he didn't say anything.

So she began, "Um sir, if you would, um is the King awakened?"

The guard took a quick glance at her and then stared ahead of her again and nodded.

"Okay… may I seek an audience with his Majesty, if he is not busy?"She asked again.

The guard looked across to where his partner was who had heard her request and nodded, said, "Please wait a moment here, I'll ask his Majesty."

ThoraLee nodded and stepped back and waited while he went into the Halls.

Five minutes later, he came out and nodded to her, "His Majesty will see you, Miss, you may enter," he opened the door wider for her to proceed within.

Lee smiled widely and thanking the guards, she went in.

Walking into the Halls, Lee looked about her; it was a huge room with very high ceiling that reached about two to three storey tall. The walls were made of grey stones, and Lee could see there were several of the King's guards on duty by the various doors that led to either to the courtyards or the main entrance. She remembered from last evening when Thorin was showing her the palace the guards were constantly present on duty in the Receiving Halls.

As she turned to her right where King Thrain, and to her surprise, Queen Nur was sitting upon the dais, in the Halls, waiting to receive her.

She moved to face them and bowed low to show her respect for the King and Queen before straightening herself and looked at them.

"Good morning child, "Nur said as she nodded to her smilingly.

"Good morning, your Majesty, I thank you for seeing me." She smiled back.

Thrain waved at her nonchalantly, "For you, ThoraLee, it is always a pleasure."

Nut smiled agreeably.

"What can we do for you, my dear?" He asked.

Suddenly, feeling self-conscious, she blushed slightly, she was tongue-tied.

Nur frowned slightly, "Is something the matter ThoraLee? Did Thorin do something to you…?"

Lee shot her head at her and shook it, "No! You mistaken, ma'am. He didn't do anything. I..I..just want to…I have a…I…Oh..dear…"

She blew a frustrated breath of air out as her face began to redden.

The King and Queen exchanged concern looks, Nur spoke again, "ThoraLee, are you ill, my dear? Shall I call a healer?"

ThoraLee shook her head and chuckled nervously and heaved a deep breath and muttered, "This should be easier…"

"Okay…Um…Your Majesty, about that…er, compensation that I originally said I did not want, well I changed my mind."

King Thrain frowned in confusion, "What do you mean, you want a payment? Now?"

Lee shook her head, "No, I mean after I had done my work, after the translation, that is. I want to claim my payment. Is it too late to ask for a payment?"

Thrain looked at his wife who asked her, "What kind of payment, ThoraLee? Ask, child, and then we will consider it."

Thrain nodded.

Taking another deep breath, she said, "I would like to ask for your oldest son's hand in marriage," then she let the air out of her lungs. Deflated she breathed hard, trying not to pass out.

"What?" Thrain and Nur asked at the same time. "You want to claim Thorin's … you want to marry him?"

Lee nodded, now her face a complete shade of crimson red.

To Lee's surprise or no surprise, depending on how you'd wanted to look at it; the royal couple was reduced to laughter.

There were tears leaking from their eyes as they leaned back in their thrones.

The guards were eyeing on their royal charges with concern, their weapons at the ready, pointing at the young female dwarf, who was the root of their royal visages'…laugher?

"Um, your Majesties?" ThoraLee frowned at them worriedly; _was that a yes or no_? Their laughing was beginning to worry her. "I…I don't understand…are you in agreement to my claim?" she asked again nervously.

Thrain cleared his throat and nodded his head, "Well my dear, I have to say, this is certainly the most unconventional er, proposal I've ever been approached in my life. Ever."

"Indeed, most unusual and very much unexpected," Nur nodded her head; she was still smiling as she made to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Has my son been consulted on this proposal? Has he agreed?"

Eyes widening, Lee shook her head, "No…no, your Majesty. I thought I'd approach you first. And …I…I don't think it is of his concern at the moment as this is my request to you."

"I see," Thrain said thoughtfully. "Hmmm…a marriage claim to my son…First of all, ThoraLee, you are quite young to wed my son. Only…?"

"21 sire," she said.

"That IS very young, my dear. Why, I did not wed the Queen till I was 150! And she was …"

"Watch what you tell her my age, my dear." The queen eyed her husband regally.

Thrain nodded, "Well, she was over 100 years… younger, my dear when I married her," he eyed his wife for assurance.

Nur nodded at her husband with satisfaction, "Much better, my husband. I agree, ThoraLee, you are too young to make this marriage claim at this moment to my son."

ThoraLee frowned at her, "But I am asking for a payment for my compensation upon completion of my work."

The Queen shook her head, "That may be so but your payment is …the most unique type of request and one we could not meet as of yet."

Lee thought for a moment before speaking again, "Then, you will consider my future claim of him for marriage when the time is appropriate?"

Thrain spoke, "In order to answer your claim, we will have to ask my son if it is agreeable."

Lee was hesitant, "Yeah, I figured that might come to that."

"You do not think he will not agree to it?"

Lee chuckled nervously, "Not only will he _not_ agree to it, he will most strenuously object to it."

"Strenuously object?" Nur asked in puzzlement.

"Yes, your Majesty, very loudly too."

"Ah, I see ThoraLee." Nur nodded. "Then why did you want to make a claim anyway? Isn't it the Prince's place to claim his bride?"

"Yes, your Majesty. I may not be of royal birth nor a male but I can request a claim before any one does. I may not be able wed Prince Thorin now but if I claim him now, no one can in the future."

Nur studied ThoraLee for a while before she spoke, "You are very much smarter than I expected, ThoraLee. You knew we would not agree to your union so you asked for this claim, just in case.

ThoraLee nodded, "You are not angry, are you your Majesty?"

Nur smiled as she shook her head, "Not at all, I.."

"Father! Mother! Forgive me, I oversle…oh..good morning Lee." Thorin hurried in to stand before his parents, running his hand over hair.

Thrain and Nur nodded to their son.

"Long night, son?" Thrain observed as he grinned at him. "

Thorin looked about him and saw _ThoraLee standing in front of his parents with a very nervous look, his mother a pleased expression and his father…well, he couldn't read his father's face. Had he miss something?_

Thrain was not looking forward to this; the lid was about to explode into the sky as he looked around the Halls with his guards on sentry and their weapons…

Weapons!

Straightening, Thrain cleared his throat and said in a loud voice to his guards, "Guard, leave us!"

The guards, glanced at him once, nodded before they all filed out of the Halls.

Thorin watched them leave and turned to his parents again, "What is going on? Father?"

Thrain nodded, "Well, ThoraLee has changed her mind and made her claims to the payment upon completion of her works."

Thorin glanced her way and asked, "And what is her claim?"

"Your hand in marriage."

Silence.

Thorin frowned and looked at his father, "Sir, did I hear you correctly? She asked, for my hand, in marriage?"

ThoraLee began to take a couple of steps back away from him.

"She asked to marry me?" He repeated.

"Yes, son." Thrain nodded, unconsciously leaning back against his chair; he saw his son's face, it was turning an ugly shad of red.

He turned to her, his eyes were as wide as saucers, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, WOMAN?"

"Oh dear me…" his mother uttered.

ThoraLee shook her head, chin high.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF AULË DO YOU THINK YOU ARE PLAYING AT?"

"I can hear you perfectly fine, Thorin, you do not need to raise you voice above all of us," Lee said calmly, although her hands were shaking.

"CALMLY? CALMLY? YOU HAVE JUST MADE A MOCKERY OF MY MANHOOD AND YOU ASK ME TO SPEAK CALMLY?" His chest was heaving hard as he tried to maintain his anger.

_Lee was glad, very glad the King had dismissed the guards and their sharp weapons ere he might use them and skewer her! Uh oh! They missed one; she espied his sword! Just hope it was blunt..fat chance he would carry a blunt sword_!

Thorin couldn't believe what she had done. He couldn't have felt more humiliated as he did now, she was absolutely the most impossible female he had ever met, he had fallen in love with!

What was he going to do with her?

How was he going to rectify this situation so that it wouldn't seem as if she asked for his hand?

He had never heard of anything so…so…ridiculous! Absurd!

_He was relieved Balin and Dwalin was not here or they would laugh till they die!_

_Really! If it weren't for the fact he loved her immensely, he would have rejected her! That would have taught her a lesson! Reject her, that's it!_

He grinned and then he said out loud.

"Well, now that I'm here, surely I am able to have a say to this claim?"

Lee nodded.

"Then I reject your claim." He said simply and crossed his armed over his chest and looked away from her.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY? YOU REJECT MY CLAIM?" She yelled at him.

He gave her a cursory glance, nodded and turned away from her again.

Fuming, she stomped her feet on the stone floor and then said, "You told me last night in the garden, you love me. And…and you'll marry me!"

He nodded and turned to her, "That is correct Lee, I said I will marry you, not the other way around."

"What difference is that?"

"A lot, my dear. I am a man, for one thing. Woman does not make a claim on a man."

"Why not?" She demanded, her green and amber eyes seemed as if they were glowing in flames.

"They just don't, it makes the man sounds…weak."

"Oh puff!" She uttered "That is the dumbest reason I've ever heard.

Nur was shaking her head, "Here we go again…they are giving me the worst of head sores!"

Thrain nodded in agreement, "I know dear, and the day is not over yet."

Thorin continued his argument, "Lee, you are not making any sense, I have told you last night that I intended to ask my father and mother for their blessings, why are you doing this?"

ThoraLee shook her head, "Because they have refused us."

Thorin shook his head and looked at his parents, "Father, mother, is this true?"

"Yes son."Thrain answered.

Thorin frowned, "I don't understand, you were the one that have been pushing me to choose a mate for the past few years."

"Yes, I know but we did not expect you to find a mate so soon. And if you did, we would have had you two waited until you have reached your Adult years before your union, just as your mother and I did."

"I cannot believe this! I am not waiting. Lee and I will be wedded as soon as it is appropriate." Thorin insisted.

"No son, you are too young, she is too young."

"But we…"

"Thorin," Nur held her hand up, cutting him off. "What if you two had made the wrong choice?"

They shook their heads firmly.

Thrain and Nur exchange concerned looks, then Nur spoke again, "Very well, I ask only that you wait for at least five…"

"One, mother!" Thorin looked at Lee who nodded. "One year, we will wed in one year, and no more."

Nur was almost angry but she simmered back down, "Very well, on one condition. The Arkenstone will be found within that time."

They nodded.

"Very good, we will have the contract drawn up and signed." Thrain said.

Lee nodded as Thorin removed a silver ring from his hand and taking Lee's left hand and slipped it into her forefinger, "ThoraLee, this is the Durin's ring to welcome you to our family. It's a little big I know but I will make one for you that fit you better, my dear." He leaned in and kissed her. Lee looked at her finger, the silver ring she had seen Thorin wearing with the dwarven runic symbol DURIN, was larger.

Before she could say anything, she was engulfed into the large folds of Thrain's hug and a much gentler one as she was welcomed in the Durin's family.

ThoraLee, back in the arms of Thorin, her newly intended, was beyond ecstatic! She was to be wedded to Thorin in one year's time!

Now, if she could find the Arkenstone!

…..

End of Chapter 12


	13. Chapter 14

Coming Of Age – Chapter 13

Not wasting anytime, they began their work with the text. As Thorin and Lee settled a routine in the basement, in the little room, she found much to learn and do.

Lee was quick to grasp the intent of the script text which was mostly and introduction of how the Dwarves were created;

_Before the First Age, Vala Aulё was said to create the first seven dwarves because he was impatient with the elves who were still not awakened, having being created by Ilúvatar. However Ilúvatar was angry with Aulё and told him to destroy all that he had created! But just as he was to smite his creation with a great hammer, Ilúvatar decided stopped Aulё and let him keep his dwarves_.

Here, Lee giggled as she began to understand why her kind was shorter than the elves!

Thorin had glanced her way with an arched look when she laughed but she schooled her looks and continued on;

_Ilúvatar had wanted the elves to awaken before so he sealed the first seven dwarves into seven stone chambers awaiting their time. _

Lee frowned at what she had translated and read again; so that was why throughout the ages, the Elves had always held such low tolerance towards us dwarves!

"Well! Excuse us, dwarves!" she muttered as she glared at the text as she continued on…

_After the Elves awakened, the Stone chambers of the Seven Dwarves were allowed to be awakened as well, the Eldest of them all, Durin founded the city of Khazad-dûm in the caves of the three peaks of __Baranzinbar, Zirakzigil, and Bundushathûr._

Lee was having slight difficulty translating as best she could the names of the three peaks and realized there were dwarven words.

"Anything on the whereabouts of the Arkenstone yet, Lee?"Thorin asked softly.

She looked up and frowned, then smiled as she realized it was Thorin talking to her; she was so engrossed in the text that she found herself transported into Durin the First's world that for a moment, she didn't recognize Thorin or where she was at.

"Hmm? No, Thorin, I'm just this moment interpreting your ancestor Durin the First. Cirth language is not as easy as it seemed. Especially some of the prints are beginning to fade."

Thorin nodded, to show that he understood and then he heard a sound, getting up, he put his papers away and locked them back in the box

"I'll be back," he left the small room.

Lee nodded and went back to her text; history had always held a fascination for her thus she delved back into the text excitedly.

_It wasn't before the city was populated by Durin's folks whom also became the Longbeads. They grew and prospered during Durin's life whom he lived a very long that he was called Durin the Deathless_. _He led such a long life that it was rumored he died three times but came back again, it was called reincarnation._

Lee frowned at the word; reincarnation. To die and be born again, how is that possible?

This portion of the text ended abruptly without explaining how Durin the First died, or if he did.

Lee began to flip the text over, but here was no more mention of Durin the First.

_It continued to mention the other Elder Dwarves; __far to the west of Khazad-dûm, the great dwarven cities of__Belegost__and__Nogrod__were founded in__Ered Luin__or, the Blue Mountains, during the First Age._

Lee stopped writing as she began to rub the back of her neck.

She then stood up and walked around the room, her legs were cramping from sitting...hmm? How long had she been sitting here?

Then she realized Thorin was not in the small room with her. A small panic rose within her as she left the small room and walked into the first room and saw him;

Lee smiled; Thorin had fallen asleep on the bed. She also saw a tray of food on the small table by the bed; she remembered the tap they heard earlier, it must be one of the servants sending down some food to them.

Rubbing her eyes, Lee yawned once as she watched Thorin slept, he looked so young and peaceful that she was tempted to crawl into his arms and curled into his warmth.

The bed was beckoning to her and she was getting tired, having little sleep the previous evening, so she stealthily moved near him and sat next to him silently and lain beside him, not quite touching which was almost impossible as the bed was quite narrow. He didn't stir so stretching alongside him, she lay down on the bed near the edge as her heart was beating furiously, not believing her boldness! What would he say if he awakened now? But he didn't as he continued to sleep; his breathing was steady and deep. Hearing his rhythmic breathing began to lull her to sleep as well that before long, she too fell asleep.

Thorin was having a very peaceful and wonderful sleep when he felt a warm presence. He slowly awakened to find Lee sleeping right next to him. A wide smile spread warmly on his face as he put his arm on her and gathered her into his body, she groaned and murmured as she burrowed deeper within him as she continued to sleep peacefully.

Thorin continued to watch her sleeping; he found that he liked this new and different feeling; sleeping with her right beside him. She was so warm, so cozy, and so loving. He felt protective of her; his heart sang as he slowly moved his arm up and down her back.

She moaned and almost sounded as if she was purring contently into his beard and neck as he leaned down to kissed her lightly on her forehead.

He realized she was awake when she moved her head up and reached up to kiss him back softly.

"Hello, beautiful, "he greeted her softly as he kissed her again.

"Hi," she smiled back.

He ran his hand over her soft cheek and along her jaw...

A tap on the outer door interrupted his motions.

He smiled at her and sat up, "I'll be right back, sweetheart."

She nodded as he got out of the bed and left.

Less than a minute later, he came back.

"We're expected to dinner in a bit. Your father, Crimm, you brother, my parents and you and I are having a small dinner."

Lee's eyes were wide and then slowly she smiled, "Really? Then we need to get going, I would like to freshen up."She hoped out of the bed.

Thorin grinned as he reached over and grabbed her, "Hey, wait, "he held her hands. "We still have time."

She laughed as she fell into his arms and let him kissed her for long while until it was time for them to head back above the surface.

…

Lee cleaned herself as well as she could; she wrinkled her nose as she told herself that a bath would be nice but there wasn't any time at the moment as she used a wash basin in the guest room.

She was nervous; her father and Jor meeting the King and he Queen! As well as Uncle Crimm.

She laughed as she recalled earlier when she and Thorin had emerged from the basement, Crimm was waiting for them, his hands were wringing together which were an indication of nervousness.

"Thorin! I must be excuse from this dinner! I am but a mere servant in your father's service!"

Thorin clapped his arm about the old dwarf, "Crimm! It's just a family dinner! You're not about to be executed."

Crimm glared at the younger dwarf, "I feel like it. Come Thorin, let me be excused."

Thorin shook his head, "No. You are family, or soon to be. Are you not happy for Lee and I?"

He nodded, "I can be from my quarters, I can celebrate in my quarters with you and Lee later."

Thorin shook his head, "You are not getting away so easily, beside you're not going to disappoint Lee."

Crimm was about to argue again when he let that fact sank in, his should sagged, "Very well. I'll see you in a bit."

Thorin laughed, "That's right, we'll see you later!"He waved at him before he dashed away to his room to change.

That evening as the sun set, everyone except for Erimm and Jor were at the dining Halls. Lee was waiting for them impatiently. Thorin was holding her hands, keeping her calm but he could sense her nervousness.

"Here, drink something," he handed her a mug of beer. "It usually calms me down."

She eyed him, "The last time you got me drunk, I woke up with such a head sore, it took me more than a day to recover. No thank you."

Thorin shrugged, "Fine, I'll drink for the both of us, then."

Finally, the doors opened, and Lee's father and brother showed up.

It was agreed that Thorin should do the introduction as he was less nervous and would not botched the whole thing.

Erimm and JoraLee were as nervous as Lee was as they stood with her.

King Thrain and Queen Nur were amazed when they looked from Lee to Jor and back, their resemblances were astounding.

They began to ask Erimm many questions about the twins; they were fascinated about their uniqueness. They talked until it was time to dine.

Lee was able to talk to her twin who informed her that he was setting out with Balin and Dwalin the very next day!

"Tomorrow!"She exclaimed.

Jor nodded excitedly as he began to talk about the weapons he had packed and hoped to show off to this Master Odin. Thorin wished him good journey and advised him about the travelling and to be aware of orcs and that Balin and Dwalin were the best dwarves who could protect him and that they were best traveling companions.

Crimm tried to be inconspicuous but his brother would not permitted it, he included him in the conversation as the king and queen talked more of the twins' upbringing. There were plenty of laughter and blushings as tales were exchanged. Of course, Nur began to talk about Thorin's embarrassing childhood as well. Thorin tried to stop her from telling everyone when he was a wee dwarf of two years of age running all over the palace dodging his nanny wearing nary a stitch of clothing, showing off his bare bottom! The entire party was reduced to tears, except for Thorin whose face was so red that he hid within his future intended's hair and neck.

After dinner, Thrain and Nur led Erimm, Crimm and Jor to the family room for a more intimate family discussion.

The royal couple had agreed that it was time that Crimm should not be made to serve the family anymore as it was not appropriate, Crimm began to panic, but Thrain assured him that soon, he would be almost part of the family, to serve the Durin family would certainly looked awkward.

Crimm was therefore awarded something akin to a retirement and given a house to live. But Crimm declined a house, he had discussed it with his brother Erimm whom he would be living together, two elder dwarves living till their ending days for they were past 250 years each.

Lee and Jor were sad to see their father aged so quickly but they are older now, and leading their own life. Lee would be soon wedded, and it was agreed that she would be living in the palace and she would have her own living quarters until her union with Thorin.

"Jor, you will be back for my union in a year, won't you?"Lee pled her twin.

Jor shook his head, "I don't know, sis. If Master Odin accepts me, I'll be out of touch with everyone, so I am sorry."Then he spoke again, "Or I can go another time"

Thorin shook his head, "It will be all right Jor, This training is much more important. Your sister will understand your absence, right Lee?" He squeezed her hand gently.

She looked at Thorin who nodded at her encouragingly; Jor had been looking forward to the trip and if Master Odin were to accept him it would have been hard to leave again until he was finished with his training with the very old dwarf, and Jor might not get another chance if he did not go now.

The older dwarves were sitting as Thrain and Nur were holding an impromptu court with Crimm and Erimm.

"Master Erimm, I understand you're a metal smith." Thrain asked.

Erimm nodded nervously.

"And you are quite good at smithing swords?" Erimm nodded again.

Stroking his long beard thoughtfully, the King continued, "I wondered if I could ask you to smith some swords for my army?"

Erimm began coughing hard.

Crimm had to pat his back for him.

"Are you all right, Master Erimm?"

"Yes your Highness. Yes, I'm sure I am able to make those swords you requested, although my forge is too small to accommodate the supply you requested."

Thrain waved his hand as they spent the rest of the evening discussing the amount of order Thrain wanted, Crimm began to input his ideas of making stronger swords. Erimm nodded, pleased that the King had entrusted him and his brother to work on the army's weapons.

Dis was brought into the room by her nurse to be introduced to the new extended future family members. She remembered Lee's voice and let her hold her as Jor leaned in and chatted with the baby too. Dis was very intrigue with him as she raised her hands up to him; Jor gingerly held him as he smiled at her rammed her hand into his mouth and gurgled in laughter. As the nurse tried to take her away for her evening meal, Dis cried and fussed until Jor offered to hold her again, she was placated and laid on his shoulders all evening as he patted on her back gently till she drifted off to sleep.

"What's with our children and their being so attracted to the twins?" Nur asked laughingly as Jor offered to take the baby to her room to lay her down to her bed, the nurse leading the way.

Lee smiled and told them that Jor had always been fascinated with babies. To him, they were the most intriguing tiny beings that were always laughing or crying and always eating.

When Jor came back, Erimm announce that it was time to leave as the hour was drawing late.

They all stood and took their leave, Thorin and Lee accompanied her father and Jor to their ponies.

The King and Queen had left for their private quarters after they bade them a good evening.

Lee was walking with her father; she knew he had wanted to talk to her alone

"Lee this is very sudden, are you sure this is what you want?"Her father looked closely at his only daughter.

She nodded and looked at Thorin who talking to her brother.

Erimm nodded as he continued, "Look into your heart carefully, my daughter. What does it say?"

She stopped and said, "It is telling me to love, father."

He smiled softly at her and reached over and kissed her forehead, "Then it's telling you the truth. I'm happy for you, child. Are you happy?"

She nodded as she smiled.

"As long as you are, then I'll be as well. Be safe. Now let me talk to him."

She nodded as she walked to her brother and intended.

"Thorin," he turned to her. "My father wishes to speak with you."She gave him a nod.

He arched a brow and nodded, gave her peck on her cheek and walked away.

Jor watched him and their father and then looked at his twin sister, "So, you've been well?"

Lee grinned, "Yeah, you?"

Jor nodded, "Excited and nervous at the same time."

Lee said sadly, "Jor, you will take care of yourself, won't you?"

Jor frowned and nodded nervously, "Yeah, I will." He said quietly. "Take care of father, okay?"

She nodded, and then she hugged her brother tightly.'

He returned her hug as he tried not to shed any tears as she was doing now.

They knew that this was the first time they were to be separated and it would be a long time before he would be back again, the strange sensation of not seeing her brother ever again came over her. She felt an urge to tell him not to go, that something ...that she would never see him again, came over her but she held her tongue. He had been looking forward to this trip since the other dwarves had invited him, it would be cruel of her to hold him back just because of an unwarranted feeling.

Thorin approached Erimm and took a deep breath; he didn't know what to expect from her father. So far, Erimm had been friendly since he had met him but that was before he and Lee became a couple...well, engaged. Now, he might not take the sudden news quite well, especially when he, Thorin barely knew Lee! The old dwarf might use one of his own swords on him for all he knew!

"Your Highness," Erimm began.

Thorin shook his head and interrupted him, "Please call me Thorin, after all I'm engaged to your daughter and will be ...er...your son after marriage. So to address me so formerly would be absurd."

Erimm nodded, "You're right, Thorin," he nodded. I 'm not sure what to ask you as I hardly know you. I am however, glad that your father and mother agreed that you and Lee are too young to wed now and that it is best to wait. Thorin, I want you to know that I'm old, and that I might not be around for long. I am past 250 years old, so you see, it won't be long now before I join her mother. I am entrusting you to care for her..."

Thorin reached out and touched the old dwarf's shoulder and said, "Sir please, you'll have many more years with us. It would please Lee most if you're still around when we wed. And more so when you hold her children. I assure you and her blessed mother that I pledged to uphold my eternal love for her. You have loved only one woman in your entire life and that is her beloved mother, and I pledge to you and the great Aulё that I will honor ThoraLee's love for eternal."

Erimm nodded, a tear on the edge in his eyes as he turned his gaze up in the star-lit sky and smiled, "Ah, Emmerlina, you hear that? Your new son have pledged his promise to care for your little ThoraLee. We are now at peace, my dear..."

Before Erimm could say more, a shooting star shot across the sky coming fast from their left flying as fast as their eyes could see as it faded into the horizon to their right...

Erimm and Thorin smiled at each other as if this was a sign from Emmerlina, a good sign that she approved of the forthcoming union.

Lee and Jor saw the shooting star as well and looked at one another; the last time they saw a shooting star, they were ten and were leaving the wood elves, never to see them again. Lee frowned at Jor; she read it as an omen as a confirmation that she would never seeing Jor again.

Changes

"Don't read too much into it, Lee" Jor said quietly as he mounted his pony. "It could be nothing, nothing. You hear, Lee?" He said vehemently.

Lee nodded woodenly as she held his pony.

"Oh, I almost forgot to give this to you, something I made a while back," Jor handed a package to her.

Lee took it from him and opened the white cloth and smiled.

It was a bracelet made of silver and he had put several small green emerald and amber beads intricately entwined into the silver metal.

"It's lovely Jor, thank you."She admired it smiling at it as she slid it into her hand. It fitted perfectly.

Lee felt Thorin slipped his arm on her shoulder as Erimm mounted his pony and with a wave, father and son left the palace.

Thorin looked at her hand, admiring the bracelet.

"This is very fine metal craftsman work," he commented.

She nodded as she leaned back lying against his chest, reveling in his warmth, Thorin smiled as he tucked her within him.

...

End of Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Okay here, we're going to change the rating to an M for precaution as there are some parts containing a little risqué. I'm not sure how far I can go as far as beyond maturity stuff. So if it is out of line here, please forgive me, it is not intended. Thiss story seem to be taking a life of its own. It insists of writing its own AU version of what Tolkien had intended it to be! **

**So, I hope you're enjoying this version of Pre-Hobbit story… **

Coming Of Age – Chapter 14

When Thorin and Lee returned to the basement, they wanted to get back to their work. The nap and dinner had restored their energies and now they were eager to work.

Lee settled down on the chair with her text while Thorin on his mystery box of papers.

Soon she was back to the First Age of the Middle Earth where the first dwarves flourished and prospered; it listed a long and tedious detail description of the Durin's prosperity.

Lee frowned as she wrote the word, Darrowdelf; another name for dwarves.

Upon further interpretation, as she wrote, _Durin the First was awakened at Mount Gundabad not long after the Firstborn Elves were awaken themselves. From Gundabad, Durin's clan began to grow and spread south of the mountains, battling orcs of Morgoth. _

_From deep Mount Gundabad, the Durin the First taught his children how to mine gold, silver, and gemstones and prospered. There they found something that was kept within the Durin family for a long time…_

Lee stopped and read the text again; what was it? Was it the…Arkenstone? Why was it not recorded? Typically, such a find would be recorded!

Nothing… so far for now, she had to keep going on;

_When the first six elder Dwarves were awakened alongside Durin, they went their separate ways. Left behind were the stone chambers buried deep Mount Gundabad. All the chambers were destroyed by the caved- ins except for one; Durin's chambers. The whereabouts of the chamber was never found. It was believed that Durin the First was obsessed in finding the chamber and in the process of searching for it, he found much other treasure…_

Lee fell asleep as she wrote the last word.

Thorin was startled when he heard Lee dropped the quill and looked up, he smiled and stood up and stretched his sore muscles.

It must be late; time to be in bed.

He began to pack up the papers back in the box and then the text back in the pedestal and replaced the encasement. The entire time, Lee didn't stir.

He picked her up and hugging her to him, he moved them to the first room and placed her on the bed.

He reached down and picked up his bedroll, and spread it on the floor by the bed and settled down on it; soon he was asleep.

Lee dreamt of being in the underground caves of a horrible mountain, she was looking for something with a pickaxe.

"_Keep digging, you lazy bones!" An old dwarf was yelling at her with burning red eyes._

_She turned to look at him; she knew without anyone telling her that he was none other than Durin the First. Lee shrank from him in fear._

_He was face was wrinkled and his beard white and long, so long that it dragging the ground but he paid no heed to it as he glared angrily at her!_

"_You will find it! Now!" He swung the leather whip that was lined with metal tips over his head and made to bring it down to her back as she covered her head with her hands bracing herself for the pain but still the intense sting was nothing she had experienced as tears pooled down her cheeks. Lee rolled from the pain as she fell and screamed…_

…she rolled off the bed and landed onto Thorin hard as he was jerked awake from his deep sleep.

"Oi!"Thorin cried out as she landed on top of him, catching him by surprise.

"Oof!"She yelped in pain when her knees hit his chest as she tumbled down and her hands flailing out and about, she began to struggle to try to gain balance on her footing but in the process and not expecting Thorin lying on the floor on the side of the bed, she panicked.

"Stop! It's me Lee! Ouch! My fingers! Oaf! Not _there_!" Thorin was trying his best to grab a hold of her struggling limbs, any part he could get!

"STOP!" He yelled on top of his lungs, in hopes she could hear; finally, she did.

Somehow, panting hard, she found herself straddling over him across his chest!

"Wha! How?" She looked down at him in puzzlement, her chest heaving heavily.

Thorin was also breathing heavily, now even more so with her sitting atop of him as he stare op at her.

"Are you trying to kick me to death, woman?"

She shook her head, her hair flying about her like a wild creature from the woods, "I...I..don't know! He tried to whip me!" Tears were streaking down her cheeks.

Thorin's heart lurched upon seeing her dampened cheeks as he reached up and gently wiped them, "My dear, there's no one about, who would dare try to put a whip on you, and if he did, he'd have me to answer to!"

Lee swallowed hard as she looked about her and saw that she was still in the basement, the torches lending the room a soft glow. She realized she had a bad dream, a really vivid bad dream.

Wiping her sweaty brow with a shaky hand, she tried to smile at Thorin, she told him about her horrible dream.

All the time while she was telling him about being force to work in the mines for Durin the First, Thorin held her hands, stroking her gently, hoping to ease her tension and fears; he could see the dreams was scaring her for her eyes had the wild wide-eyed look that had scared him.

As she described the whip, he felt her shivering; her hands trembled like a shaking leaf.

Thorin reached for her knees which were on both sides of his face, he started to rub them softly at first, soothing her. Then he began to feel slightly bold as he moved towards the top of her knees and through her trousers, knead her flesh.

He was watching her, watching her eyes as she was glancing down to watch him, she had stopped talking. He saw the tip of her tongue peeking slightly from her mouth and he felt within him, blood was rushing into his head as well as other parts of his body.

"Lee…"He whispered her name.

Her eyes, he could see, were fully dilated.

She began to lower herself to him and began to kiss him gently as Thorin responded to her eagerly.

As they shifted their position slightly until she was lying beside him on the bedroll, Lee's ring flashed against the flames from the torch; serving as a reminder to Thorin that they were not wedded and she was still a maid, untouched.

Images of Crimm's cold reminder came unbidden and suddenly as if someone had cast him into an icy pool, his manly urges were cooled down instantly.

"Lee," he rasped as he pushed her away. She looked at him confused as he sat them up. "We must stop before we go any further."

"W...why?"

"Because we…we are not yet wedded. It would be most improper if you and I were to be together before we are so." He shook his head sadly.

"But Thorin, we're practically almost ... I mean I made a claim on you!"

He smiled sadly at her. "It doesn't matter, my dear, as a man, it's up to me to restrain myself. And your…er…purity."

"Oh," her cheeks flaming hot with shame as she cast her head down.

He nodded.

"I understand, Thorin." She said softly as she stood up and climbed into her bed.

"Lee, I…"

No answer.

A few minutes later, he swore to himself as he heard her sobbing to herself.

He rolled to his side and tried to sleep.

Much later, after his he had tossed and turned for the sixth or seventh time, he could still hear her soft sobs and he knew he would find no peace in his sleep or any attempt at sleep and neither would she.

So, with a low growl he got up and climbed in to her bed, and laid next to her spoon-style as he gathered her to him before she could protest, "Not a word, my dear. Not a word from you. We strictly sleep and that is it," he said softly but firmly.

Lee nodded as she backed into him as close as she possibly could.

"Goodnight my love," she murmured as she finally let sleep claimed her.

"Goodnight my Princess," He growled but also smiled he pressed a kiss into the back of her head and soon was asleep.

That night their dreams were uneventful and restful for the young couple.

…

The next day passed in relative quiet; ThoraLee's translation was slow as most of the pages of the text, she found out, were worn and faded.

But what she could translate did not make much sense as it repeatedly mentioned the First Age and the Battle of Morgoth, and the alliance of Elves and the Firebeards and Iron Hills of the Dwarf clans but it jumped back to describing Durin's folks again. Lee found the text script intriguing as she wondered why it seemed so confusing; exactly who wrote it? And how many dwarves wrote it? Shrugging her shoulders, she pulled another sheet of parchment and began again;

_Durin the First growing clan moved away southward, down to the vales of Anduin. He founded Kheled-zâram or Mirrormere, a great lake deep in the midst of three great white peaks._

_The three great white peaks he named Barazinbar 'the redhorn', zirakzigill 'the Silvertine', and Bundushathûr 'Cloudyhead'. Down in the valley he named Azanulbizar or the Dimril Dale._

"The Dimril Dale," Lee uttered silently. "Azanulbizar…hmmm, sounds ominous."

_When Durin the First breathed his last breath, it was rumored he did not die but ascended spiritually._

"What?" Lee tilted her head. "What did that mean?" She pondered long and hard until she remembered the word, 'reincarnation'.

_Longbeards maintain contact with the other six dwarf clans and when Men arrived, they traded metals in exchange for food._

_Following the defeat of Morgoth heralded the dawn of the Second Age; the dwarves had to pick up from the ruins of the battles and lived amongst the ruins of their ancient homes. For the next forty years, they moved and rebuilt. But it didn't take long for the wretched and evil orcs to rebuilt and grow. Luckily, the dwarves, forging an alliance with men, rebuilt and armed with stronger weapons and armor in Khazad-dûm. The Longbeards dominated the northern Hithaeglir and the lands east of there._

_The firm friendship of elves and Longbeards became evident when both races began to built and expand the underground of Khazad-dûm._

_Miles upon miles of underground passages was made between Khazad-dûm and what was known as The West Gate- a portal leading to the elven realm._

Lee sat up as she read the translated parchment; there was a passage that led from Moria to Rivendell? Did anyone in this age know about it? Does Thorin? Or King Thrain?

She looked down to the floor where Thorin was poring over the papers and again, saw that he was gone.

She realized stiffly, that she must have been working for a very long time at the same time she wondered if she could get a bite or even something to drink. She stood up and stretched a bit, working out the kinks in her muscles before she moved into the first room.

As she stepped into the first room she smiled; there was a tray of food and a flask of wine. Then she frowned as she realized Thorin was nowhere.

She poured the wine into the glass and began to drink thirstily when she heard footsteps; it was Thorin.

She smiled when he stepped into the room.

He stood before her and took her glass of wine and drank from it before he refilled it and gave it back to her.

"Where have you been?" She asked shyly.

He took a bite of a piece of bread before he answered, "Oh, I had to do something," he said mysteriously as he sat on the edge of the bed.

She arched a brow at him, "Do something? What kind of something?"

He shook his head, "It's a surprise."

She wrinkled her nose at him, "What kind of surprise, Thorin?"

He shook his head, "If I tell you, it won't be a surprise."

She glared at him as she tore a piece of bread and threw it at him, luckily he saw her motive and caught it easily and ate it, she shook her head at him and smiled.

"Tell me, Thorin." She said arms akimbo.

He ignored her.

"No?" She asked him again.

He shook his head.

With an unladylike grunt, she lunged at him and caught him completely by surprise as they both fell out of bed, with her landing on top of him.

Thorin baring the brunt of the force and weight of the both of them as he landed on his back, "Ouf!WOMAN!"

He held her hard preventing her from moving as she tried to playfully hit him, "Tell me now, Thorin!"

"No!" He was laughing at her as he tried to grab her hands and pulled them to her sides.

"No fair!" She was struggling to free herself but he was too stronger.

They continued to scuffle for a while until Thorin flipped them over so that she was now on the bottom and he was on top of her.

Breathless, he looked down on her sparkling eyes; Thorin felt his blood rushing to his head as he stared at her unique eyes. Her left eye a deep shade of green and the other, the amber was now a blend of hazel and honey.

Lee was staring back at his eyes which were darkening to a slate grey as she took both his shoulders and lowered him to her and kissed him deeply. Thorin did not resist her, he was mesmerized by her hypnotic eyes.

He began to growl throatily as he continued to kiss her when he moved his kisses to her jaw and neck. Lee giggled as she felt the rumble within her. She ran her hands on his back and shoulders and back through his hair, she found out that his hair was surprisingly very soft and thick.

"Thorin…" she whispered huskily. "I…" She lost her thoughts when she felt his fingers unbuttoning the top of her shirt and slid the top off her shoulder and exposed her chests, slipping the undergarments off her. Thorin had stopped kissing her as he stared at her exposed young breasts. His fingers were now tracing the deepening valley between the twin mounds as she began to breathe heavily.

Lee was watching him as he lowered his lips to kiss the tip of one of her breasts!

She gasped in astonishment at the sensation he evoked within her! In the pit of her stomach, a funny feeling was swirling within and she found that she liked it very much, she liked what he was doing to her and she didn't want him to stop.

Thorin saw the heated look in her mysterious eyes as he tasted her delightful breast; she liked it. She was beautiful, her breasts were beautiful; perfectly formed, the dusky rose colored areolas hardening immediately when he had slid her undergarment opened exposing them. He couldn't help but wanting to taste them as he turned his attention to its twin and kissed the tip. He smiled when he heard her gasped again, she clutched the back of his hair tightly to her.

He felt within his lower body a deep longing and urging, that he needed to be within her; to join her, to…NO!

Thorin moved from Lee immediately as he heaved his body to the furthest part of the room, his chest heaving heavily, not from the motion but the forced separation.

"Lee, I…I'm very sorry. I did not mean to force myself onto you."

ThoraLee, face flaming red with shame, covered her chest with shaking hands, shook her head as she turned away from him. She felt thoroughly ashamed of herself for behaving so…so bold!

"No Thorin, I should be the one to apologize. I was the one to kiss you first and I shouldn't have."

"No!" Thorin said strongly. Thorin knew they needed a break from the room; so he held out a slightly shaky hand to her, "Come, let me show you your…surprise."

Lee looked up at him, "You are not angry with me?"

He gave an encouraging smile, "No my dear, tis not your fault. Come up with me."

She nodded as she slowly stood up and shakily buttoned her shirt shyly before going to him.

Lee looked at him and found that he was still smiling at her, she nodded at him as they left the first room.

"You still won't tell me this surprise?"

He shook his head, "Has anyone ever told you patience is a virtue?"

Lee frowned and shook her head, "Not to me, dwarfs do not have patience, nor do they like surprises. Speaking of surprises, I need to tell you of the translation so far."

Thorin nodded encouragingly as they climbed the steps leading to the surface, holding her hand, "Oh?"

She nodded, "Yes! It kept referring to your ancestor Durin the First and this mysterious Stone Chamber…"

…

End of Chapter 14


	15. Chapter 16

Coming Of Age – Chapter 15

Despite their awkward moment in the first room, Thorin and ThoraLee were able to put aside their feelings as she told him what she had learned so far of the translation.

"The Western Gate?" Thorin said as they climbed the stairs. "I doubt it existed anymore. Besides it is in Khazad-dûm or Moria. We do not travel there anymore." He shook his head.

Lee nodded, "I realized that but the passage ways were also carved all the way through here as well. This elven Lady, Galadriel, she had travelled frequently back and forth beneath the Western Gate of the Elven world and here in the Darrowdelf."

As they reached the surface of the palace, Thorin leaned to her and said softly, "We'll talk more in private."

She saw the sentry guards on duty and nodded to him.

Then Thorin said aloud, "Let me show you your surprise."

He led her to another set of hallways and more stairs.

ThoraLee recognized the corridors and stopped Thorin, "These are towards your quarters, Thorin…I don't think it's appropriate," she hesitated going further.

Thorin turned back and smiled as he said, "They are the Prince's quarters but as future Princess and my wife, these will be your assigned quarters too. It would not be seemingly to be staying in the guest quarters now that you are to be part of my family, Lee."

"Princess…"Lee spoke the word and shook her head, "I can't see myself as one, Thorin. I'm still ThoraLee and I'll always be ThoraLee or just plain Lee."

Thorin grinned at her as he leaned in and kissed her pert nose, "Well, just plain Lee, you will always be my Princess."

Lee smiled shyly at him as she glanced up at him.

It was then they realized they were not alone as they looked down the hallway, near the end of the corridor. There was a quite short with a chest length red colored bearded dour looking dwarf waiting for them by a double door.

Thorin grinned and pulled her hand, "Come and meet Nifir, she is to be your helpmaid"

Lee was startled for she had thought the dwarf was a male for _she _had a beard!

Thorin felt her reluctance to advance and hesitation and looked at her in askance. Lee felt intimidated.

"Lee? What's wrong?"He asked her, suddenly felt concerned.

"I…I…I'm not sure. She...I…Thorin, I'm scared of her." She griped his hand hard for emphasis.

Thorin pulled her to him and said softly to her, "Lee, it's okay, she won't hurt you. She belonged to the Firebeard clan, and I have known her since I was a boy. Well, Frerin and I for she has been in our family's service since my mother was a girl.

Lee gave him a look, "What about the beard?"

Thorin chuckled, "The females of the Firebeard clan have beards. I know, it's pretty quaint but you'll get used to it."

She shook her head, "Why don't we have any? I mean my kind? Have beards, that is?"

Thorin stared at her as if he was picturing Lee with a beard and shook his head vehemently, "No! I don't think so, I don't think I can get use to you with a beard. I am used to Nefir's appearance already but not on you."

Lee looked up at Thorin mischievously and grinned, "So, if I were to grow a beard, you would object to it?"

He glared at his intended, "Very much so, I'd shave it off for you!"

Lee laughed heartily as she let Thorin led her to Nifir who continued to glare at them.

As they stood before her, Nifir bowed low to Thorin as she greeted him formally, "Your Highness, it is good to see you."

Thorin nodded his head as he smiled to her, "Nifir, greetings to you. I hope you have been well." She nodded. "Your family? I trust their wealth and good health has been good within your family?" She nodded again.

Thorin spoke again, "Please allow me to introduce my intended to you. This is ThoraLee, daughter of Erimm, a metalsmither. She is also niece of Crimm, the Royal Valet."

Nifir bowed low to Lee, "Greeting, Mistress ThoraLee, welcome. I hope you will allow this humble servant to serve you."

ThoraLee smiled and bowed in return, "Greetings to you, Madam Fefir, I am most pleased to meet you."

Nifir nodded and opened the door, her hand spreading into the room.

Lee turned to face Thorin questioningly who was still grinning, "Follow Nifir, she will show you the rest of your …er…surprise within."

Lee, unsure of everything, nodded hesitantly as she began to turn towards the awaiting Nifir but Thorin was still holding her.

Lee glanced towards him just as he leaned in and kissed her on her lips and whispered softly, "I love you, my Princess, I hope you like your surprise!" after another sound kiss, he nudged her from him, pushing her towards the opened door and the awaiting Nifir

….

Inside the room, ThoraLee found that it was a private sitting room; there were several long couches and lounging chairs for a comfortable afternoon tea. The tall windows were bright, airy and cheerful.

Nifir pointed the large golden plated fire place, the mantle above was richly decorated with gold and silver ornaments. Above the high ceiling and in the center of the room was a huge chandelier made with hundreds of diamonds reflecting its brilliance casted from the fire torches lining along the walls of the room. Every where she looked, Lee saw richness and wealth, she could not imagine the gold the palace had used to decorate within!

"Your bedroom, Mistress ThoraLee," Nifir pointed to their left, Lee saw an open door. She entered another room and almost reeled back!

This was her bedroom? It could fit her entire house in Dale!

The bed in enormous; Lee blushed as she could see Thorin and her sleeping in it and still there were plenty of space around them. It was absolutely ridiculous! The framework was, of course, made of gold. The bed looked soft and smooth and silky.

"Mistress, this way," Nifir nodded to another door that she opened for Lee but she paused as she turned behind her and glanced at a door and asked Nifir where it led to. The helpmaid told her calmly that it was connected to the Prince's bedroom. Lee was embarrassed as she followed Nifir meekly towards the door she had first indicated.

As soon as Lee entered the room, Lee began to giggled; it was not as big as the bed room but it was not small either, there was another golden fireplace built against the far wall from where they stood. But what held her attention was in the middle of the room. It was a giant black marble round bath basin built into the floor. The size of the basin could fit two or three of her or just Thorin and her…

At the moment, the basin was almost full and a steady steam billowing out of it, looking inviting.

Lee was smiling; _so this was Thorin's surprise! He knew I must be in need of a good cleaning up!_

"If you will, I have drawn this bath for you. And after you are done, your dressing is right this way." Nifir showed her an adjourning paneling jutting out of the wall that contained some privacy for her dressing. There was a table where some thick cloths was stacked, Lee saw that it must be for drying her body after a bath and then she saw a dress she had never seen before. It was navy blue in color with long sleeves, and unlike the party dress she first in her Coming of Age party, this sleeve was slimmer, more fitted. Lee grinned and thought to herself; _at least I'm not going to fly or put any child in there!_

Half an hour later, she was grinning like a fool as she soaked up in the steamy scented warm water. She had never taken a bath in her life and she found she enjoyed it incredibly. At home, she usually washed up in the private room in next to her bedroom.

With her eyes closed, she could not believe where she was, warm steamy water lapping luxuriously on her as she leaned her head back against the edge of the basin; Nifir had placed a cloth behind the back of head against the marble basin as a cushion.

Thorin, how did he know she had wanted to be clean? She smiled as she remembered earlier what he was doing to her, when he slid her undergarment off of her and caressed her breasts softly and kissed her there so gently.

"Lee," he had whispered her name softly. "You are so beautiful." He kissed her again.

She smiled as she presented her neck to him, he leaned lowered and tasted her and traced smoothness of her skin under the warmth of the water, touching the crest of her breasts as her breath became shortened.

"My lovely ThoraLee…"He continued to whisper caressingly into her.

Then she felt his hands on her bare thighs beneath the waters; he was touching her with just the tips of his fingers but it was doing untold emotions within her lower extremities!

She moaned softly…

"Mistress?" Nifir asked nearby

Lee snapped her eyes opened and saw Nifir standing near her and she screamed! She had thought a strange male dwarf had entered into her bathroom; she was still not used to Nifir and her…beard.

….

Thorin was in his private room, he had just completed his own bath, having a new male servant drawn his bath water for him. He thought of his intended; his ThoraLee and wondered how she was enjoying his simple gift of her own rooms, dresses, and her own help maid. He knew she had expressed that she did not desire jewels, which was unusual for a female dwarf, but he had chosen some simple jewels for her choosing that he had hoped she liked and that she would wear for him. The piece of bracelet her twin brother gave her yester eve had given him some ideas, as well he remembered the jewels she had designed in the workshop in her home, he remembered her preference. He hoped she liked what he had picked for her.

As for the dresses, though, he knew she was not overly fond of them, having preferring shirts and breeches. But he liked to see her in dresses too. So, he hoped she would, occasionally, wear a dress.

He had planned for a simple dinner for them tonight to dine alone, before they returned to the oppressive basement and work.

He saw that she had made much progress in the translation and was vastly pleased at it, he knew it was a matter of time she would get to the location of the Arkenstone.

Wearing clean trousers, he was about to put on his the sapphire tunic he had worn on Lee's Coming of Age party when he heard a loud feminine scream from the other side of his room, where Lee's private quarters was! Tossing his tunic down, he dashed to the connecting door when he realized it was locked.

Damn! He swore aloud.

He looked for the key he knew he had one and that Lee now had the other…there! In the golden bowl near the fire place!

He dashed over and dug for the key, knocking the bowl down but he didn't care as he left it spinning on the ground and dashed back to the door and unlocked it as fast as could, he had already wasted precious time…

Banging the door opened he ran into the room and looked around, "Lee! Where are you! What's going on?"

No one was in here so he ran into the other room he knew to be her bathroom and he smacked the door opened and ran in only to skid to a stop as if he had turned to stone instantly. The sight before him was forever now indelible in his mind; he swallowed hard as he found he did not want to blink for fear it would disappear;

It was ThoraLee, standing in the middle of the huge basin and the water had reached to her knees but that was not what took his attention. It was the rest of her naked form; his eyes had moved from her bare knees to her thighs and to where her thighs joined at the apex, there was a patch of dark brown curls of hair covering her maidenhood. Thorin kept his gaze going up and he saw that her stomach was taut and firm, her waist was narrow. Now, her beasts, her beautiful full breasts he had adored this morn, and kissed its tips lovingly. What he would give to be able to worship her body close up again!

When he moved his eyes to her beautiful face, he saw her stunned look; she was standing staring back at him, stunned and naked. He tried to grin at her but he couldn't. He wanted to gather her into his arms, to assure her she is safe, he was there to protect her from whatever that had frightened her.

What did frighten her anyways? He turned to her help maid who was still standing near her, body cloth in her hands.

Nifir was momentarily shocked to see him within the Princess' private bathroom but recovering now, and thankfully with a body cloth she moved to cover Lee's body.

"Oh the great Aulё," Thorin muttered under his breath as he took in her vision as Nifir covered her. But her naked form was forever burned into his mind as he muttered ,"By all the ancestors of Durin, you are certainly the most beautiful of all that graced this land, ..." he began to move forward but suddenly, Nifir appeared before him, her hand in front of his face.

"Your highness," she said firmly as she shook he head. "You are not permitted to take another step forward within. Mistress ThoraLee is still a maiden, you will dishonor her."

At once Thorin snapped himself out of a trance as he saw Lee standing behind Nifir. Her face was covered within her hands but her ears were flaming red. Nifir was glaring at Thorin disapprovingly.

Just as Nifir was dismissing Thorin, Lee peeked over her shoulder and began staring at Thorin. She had never seen him without a shirt on and found herself deeply attracted to his built. His arms were so well built! The muscles on his arms were big and incredibly muscular. His chest was bulky and…well, rippling. _Oh my!_ Lee could not keep her eyes from his half naked form! And his waist was narrow, tapering down to where the top of his trousers covered his narrow hips. She could tell his thighs were quite nicely formed as well; what it would feel to run her hands over them! She wondered as her hands tingled to feel, "By the great Aulё, he could not have been made more gloriously like the immortals!"

"I believe you were in the process of dressing yourself, your Highness?" Nifir said stiffly, reminding Thorin again.

Thorin turned his gaze from Lee to her and nodded distractedly, "Yes, Madam Nifir. I…I…will be...um… on my way." He cleared his throat and glancing at Lee one more time before walking back to his rooms.

Nifir turned back to Lee, "Now, shall we get you dressed Mistress ThoraLee?" she arched a brow at her.

Lee meekly nodded at her, clutching the cloth to her body as she followed Nifir to the alcove.

….

End of Chapter 15


	16. Chapter 17

Coming Of Age – Chapter 16

.

.

Thorin was standing by the fire place, he was holding a mug of beer waiting for his love nervously, tugging at the collar of his tunic again. He wondered once again why he had chosen to wear this confounded uncomfortable outfit.

And where was she? He glanced at the door again hoping for it to open and for her to walk through.

The servants had done a wonderful job in preparing their evening meal; meats, fruits, and breads.

Taking another drink from the mug he breathed hard as he stared at the fire crackling in the fireplace.

The image of Lee came unbidden to him again; the one of her standing resplendent and gloriously bared of any clothing in the center of the bathing basin as if she had rose from it. She was so very beautiful and he found he could not shake the image of her from his mind. He wanted her, he wanted to hold her within his arms. He clenched his hand as he recalled the feel her soft silky skin…

His attention was broken when he heard soft cloth rustling; Thorin turned around and almost dropped his mug.

ThoraLee was standing before him.

She was wearing the sapphire dress, a match to his tunic. Its sleeves were long and fitted, just like his, and embroidered in gold thread. The waistline of the dress was narrow and emphasis the slimness and slender form of her body, Thorin felt his raw emotions running through him. Her hair was left loose behind her back, dark rich brown. He saw that she was wearing a silver chain with the Durin ring he gave looped through it, it was resting just on the tip of the valley of her twin mounds. Her green diamond ring twinkling on her finger.

He cleared his throat and smiled at her softly. Placing the mug on the dining table, he walked to her and gathered her hands and held them.

"You are by far the most beautiful and prettiest maiden I have ever met in my life, ThoraLee. I am the luckiest man in this kingdom and the whole land. I can search the entire world and I will never find another you."

Lee's face was reddened as she ducked her head down, her eyes were on the floor, she was speechless; it was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her!

She felt his finger lifted her chin up to face him and he leaned and kissed her softly. She felt her heart singed as it beat wildly.

Thorin kissed her gently; he felt that she needed to be handled a fragile flower, can she would break; he could not believe she was before him. Her beauty was intoxicating and he could not stop looking at her. She was his.

He wanted to shout to the world and beyond! He wanted to tell the great Aulё that she was his, and to thank them for their gift of her! He was truly blessed.

Of course they knew about it! He felt idiotic but he didn't care. He loved ThoraLee.

"I love you, Lee." He said, grinning like a fool.

Lee, in return laughed as she responded, "And I love you, Thorin."

With a surprise shout, he spontaneously picked her up and spun her around the room. Lee was laughing like a child. They were laughing as though they were children again.

As their laugher died down, Thorin slid her down to him but he held her close and kissed her. Lee closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave herself to him, returning his kiss in kind.

It was a while when he released her but he held her hand as he led her to her seat on the table and served her.

At first they sat across from each other. Thorin found that he had to crane his neck to look at her. Shaking his head, he pushed his chair away from him, causing Lee to look up at him in surprise. Standing up, he grabbed his plate and walked over to where she was sitting and placing his plate down and sat diagonally from her. Lee nodded and laughed as she offered a piece of meat to him where he ate from her hand.

While they dined, they talked about themselves and at some point, Thorin pointed to her hand, "Did the jewelry not please you?" She had taken off the bracelet Jor had given her, in place was a very plain silver piece that was intricately entwined to resemble like a vine. This bracelet and the plain chain was the only thing she wore, aside from her green diamond ring.

"Thorin, I…I like them all very much and I thank you for the gifts but I could not decide and so…" she was fingering the bracelet and suddenly she looked at him. "You made this, didn't you?"

Thorin smiled and nodded. He picked her arm up, the one where the bracelet was on, "Aye, I made this when I first learned how to smith a long time ago."

"It is very pretty."

He grinned, "Pretty trinket for a very pretty lady," he turned her hand to kiss her palm.

Then he continued, "But how did you know I made it?"

She shrugged, "I just did. I don't know how…it's you. And it's something I would do."

He nodded, "When I selected them, I thought it would be something you would do as well."

"Isn't strange how our ideas are so similar?" she asked with a grin, her cheeks blushing red.

He reached out and stroke her heated cheek, "I like that very much, that we are so alike."

It was a very long, long dinner. In between feeding each other, there were tender moments of kissing and much hand caressing.

It was very late when Thorin reluctantly pushed her into her room and released her, "I will see you in the morn, my lovely Lee." He continued to gaze into her eyes, her intriguing green and amber ones.

"Good night my beloved Prince, may you dream of me tonight and every night." She waved to him shyly as she closed the door to her bedroom.

Lee laughed as she ran to the big bed and jumped on it and flopped with her hands out. "Oh, Thorin! You are so handsome! I am the luckiest one!" she gasped to herself.

Then she got out of bed and prepared herself for bed; Nifir had retired for the night in the servants' quarters and won't be back till the morn.

Lee frowned as she glanced down along the length of the dress and the row of buttons, she muttered to herself, "For the love of …how am I going to get these confounded buttons off without tearing this dress?" she began to fumbled with them but the ones behind her on her back…who designed the dress, anyways? She was feeling hot around her face and getting frustrated and angry. Lee began to look around for a dagger or knife when she remembered the knife in the dining room!

Opening the door she saw that the dinner things were cleared out! When did that happened? She certainly did not hear any sounds! They moved fast.

Now, what was she to do?

She looked at the connecting door to Thorin's private chambers…

_No, it would not do!_ Her cheeks flaming red, she simply couldn't go in there; she was not wedded to him yet. If the servants saw her in his chambers…tongues would wag so fast…

But she could not possibly sleep in this dress; it was too uncomfortable to do so.

Well, she just hoped the servants had retired in their quarters already.

Taking a deep breath, and letting it out, she moved to the door and knocked tentatively and hoped.

….

Thorin sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the far end of his room where the connecting door was. He had just returned from leaving his beautiful ThoraLee to her room.

One year. One long, long year till he wed her. It was to be a very hard wait for him.

He wished tonight had not ended so soon, he had never loved anyone like he loved her and he felt all his emotions rushed forth and it took so much effort within him to contain himself, to control his urges.

And she loved him too. He saw her desires for him as well. She was so innocent; she did not know she was showing and he wanted to show her how much he loved her. But she was still an innocent. They were unwed and he would not take an advantage of her thus.

It was bold of him to dine with her alone tonight but he told himself that he was able to contain his urges. What he did not expect was her beauty that robbed him of his breath and his heart. Yes, she had his heart.

Thorin smiled as he remembered her smiles she gave him, her shy looks and her innocent wanton gaze she cast at him, not knowing what she was doing.

With a satisfying sigh, he stood up and began to undress, removing his tunic, as he set the shirt down on the bed, he heard a low knock on the door.

Frowning, he went to the door and opened it slightly and was startled to see Lee standing near the door.

"Lee? Is something wrong?" He opened the door wider and looked beyond her but there was no one about. He glance back at her, his expression was concerned.

Lee was looking down at her feet as she said, "I…I'm sorry to disturb you…but Nifir has retired for the evening and I required assistance with…with…" she had looked up and saw his state of partial undress and stuttered, "this er, dress. The buttons…buttons… are in the back and I can't seem to concentrate…you are not clothed and um…okay…my buttons behind needs your shirt off…I mean…oh dear…" she was pointing over her shoulders as her cheeks was turning as red as a red apple.

Thorin breathed a sigh of relieved as he started to chuckle at her incoherent speech but somehow he understood her request and smiling he took her hand and pulled her into his room and shut the door as he led her into his room.

Lee looked about his bedchambers and saw his bed which was equally as big as hers and decorated in dark blue sheets with gold frames and gold posts on all four corners.

There was a dresser on the far end of the wall, surprisingly furnished in wood. There was a table and chair for writing for she saw some papers on it with an ink pot and quills.

The fire place at the other side of the room lent a soft glow to the room.

"Turn around Lee," she heard him said softly as he touched her shoulder and turned her around.

As he began to unbutton her dress slowly, she could feel his closeness and saw how intimate they were and alone in his room.

She was breathing hard, her chest heaving hard and wild as she felt his warm breath behind her neck and it was sending tingling feelings down the back of her spine! It was a delicious feeling she did not want it to end.

Thorin couldn't believe Lee was here!

Granted, she was here because she had required his help; thank you whoever designed this dress!

As he began from the top, he moved her soft brown hair aside, a waft of soft scent blew sweetly under his nose as he breathed deeply; her hair smelled so good! He leaned in to breathe in more of her scent.

He felt as if he could get drunk from her!

Shaking his head, he tried to remember what she was here for; _the buttons, Thorin, she needed help with unbuttoning those long length of buttons…there were many buttons…it could take a long time to undo them. A long time._

He grinned to himself as he took another button and slowly removed it from its loop.

Lee felt the top of the dress slowly opening, the buttons being undone. How long he was taking? She arched a brow to no one in particular as she thought to herself; Nifir did not take that long to button them up.

Lee smiled as she began to think that Thorin was deliberately being slow in his work, she found it quite endearing as she stood patiently.

Then her playful mood changed when she heard Thorin whispered, "Lee…my sweet love, so soft, so smooth…" then she felt his soft lips on the back of her shoulder as he began to remove her dress. Sliding the sleeve, she swallowed hard as she felt his warm hands on her bare skin all the along her arms as he reveled in the smoothness of the silkiness of her skin.

"So…soft…smooth." He kissed the top of the curve of her shoulder, first the left than he moved to the right. My Lee…"  
She felt him pulled her against him so that she was leaning on his bare chest!

Lee closed her eyes as she reveled in the feel of bare skin on bare skin. It was as if she was drowning.

He wrapped his hands around her, her head was turned to the side as he kissed her neck and ear. Then she gasped when he held her breasts in his hands. The full globs in each hand as he kneaded them gently.

"So beautiful…my sweet Lee…" he uttered softly as he kissed her more.

Then he picked her up and placed her on his bed. Her hair splayed on his pillow as she looked back at him, her green eyes were dark as well as her amber ones now colored with dark caramel and hazel.

Thorin climbed in and lie beside her, his arms stroking her bare shoulders down to her breasts.

Lee was breathing hard as she looked at him, his beautiful eyes were as dark as sapphire, as dark with desire, and it pleased her that his desire was for her; he desired her. As innocent as she was, she knew what he wanted. And she wanted what he wanted.

Lee put her hand on his bare chest and ran her hand daringly, feeling his skin along her palm.

Thorin hissed softly but he didn't stop her not until she reached to his hips, playing dangerously along his trousers.

"Lee…" he growled at her.

"Yes, my love?"

"You are playing with fire, my dear," he said raggedly, his control on the brink.

"I'm not afraid to get burn, Thorin…Khazad-zukȉn" she called him.

Thorin smiled as he repeated, "Khazad-zukȉn, heart of the mighty warrior, Lee…I am not worthy of the name…" he argued but she put her finger on his lips and shook her head.

"You are, in my heart, Thorin," she pulled him to her and kissed him passionately.

"Lee, you do realize what we're about to do…"

Lee nodded, "I claimed you, Thorin. You are mine. We wait one year, it doesn't matter…I...I know I'm not making a lot of sense now but yes, I am sure but if you're not…I'll go…"Lee made to get up from his bed but Thorin held her.

"No!" He shook his head. "I am glad you claimed me. I want to…you belong to me, Lee. You're right, I know my father and mother wanted us to wait one year but I know in my heart that you are the one for me. I want you to be mine now. I don't know how long I can wait for you to be…" he stopped himself as he began to blush. Lee's eyes were wide opened as she took in his intent.

She murmured silently and shyly, "I feel the same, Thorin, I can't wait to be your wife."

Suddenly, Thorin sat up, startling Lee, as he looked at her and grinned as if he was a boy, "Why not?"

"Thorin?"

"Why not?" He repeated.

"Why not, what, Khazad-zukȉn"

He gathered her in his arms, "Why can't we wed now?"

Lee giggled, "Because your father will have your head if you do."

Thorin looked out the tall window from his bed near the main door, "There's the full moon still, the same moon when we declared our love for each other."

Lee nodded.

"Stay here a moment, my dear." He kissed her and left the bed.

Lee sat up and watched him as he went to the dresser and picked something from it and came back.

He then came around the edge of the bed and sitting by her, held out a shirt for her.

"Here, put this on for the moment," he said, still grinning.

Lee, intrigued, followed his instructions and as he hastily buttoned them, led her from the bed, her dress, now pooling around her ankles, she stepped out of it.

Luckily, his shirt was large on her that the hem was long enough that it reached near her knees.

As he tugged at her hand, she followed him to the tall window where he opened it and stepped out leading to the balcony.

Pulling her down, they knelt in front of each other under the moon as they looked at each other; she was wearing his shirt, he was wearing bare-chested only in his trousers but that didn't matter at the moment.

He held her hand and spoke in a clear voice; "By the great Blue Moon of our wonderful Aulё, and the mighty Eru Ilúvatar, I Thorin son of Thrain of the mighty Durin who is First of Seven Fathers, I pledge to take you as my wedded wife, that I will uphold you and care for you till the eternal flames of the great sun is extinguished."

Lee blinked a few times before she was able to speak, "By the great Blue Moon of our wonderful Aulё and our mighty Eru Ilúvatar, I ThoraLee daughter of Erimm, and Emmerlina who is Elf-friend of the deep wood Elves, I pledge to take you Thorin whom I claim as my husband that I will love you for all eternal and that you are my true heart."

She took off the Durin's ring, slid it off the chain and hand it to him. Thorin then taking her left hand put it on her middle finger and even though it was still too big on her, he held her hands, he leaned in and kissed her on her lips tenderly. "My wife."

She returned his smile and said, "My husband."

He pulled them up and holding her, kissed her again, "I love you, my rúzín."

She tightened his hold on her, "Yes, truly you are also my one true love." She leaned into his chest and breathed into his skin.

He closed his eyes as he held her tight to him, his love for her rushing in as his chest began to heave heavily.

He then picked her up and carried her into the room and laid her gently on his bed.

He climbed in beside her and gently leaned in and kissed her slowly as he began to unbutton the shirt, her hands on his chest, feeling his strength.

For the rest of the night, he slowly showed her the way to womanhood as they joined their bodies as one, as husband and wife.

Lee could not believe that he was such a gentle lover as he showed her how tender and loving he could be.

They spent all night exploring each other's bodies, everything was new to her, she had many questions, he tried to help but most times, they ended up in giggles and teary laughter.

As their special moon began to wane and wave its fare well to the couple, the morn sun was soon rising, Thorin reluctantly urged his newly wedded wife back to her room, Nifir would soon be in her quarters.

And they had work to do…the translation of the script text awaiting her still.

As Thorin gave in to sleep, he didn't realize Lee's sapphire dress was still lying by the floor of his bed…she had worn his shirt to her bed.

…End of Chapter 16

…


	17. Chapter 18

Coming of Age – Chapter 17

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It was past the sun rise when ThoraLee opened her eyes. As she moved, she felt her whole body ached, especially her lower extremities. At first she didn't understand why it was so, then she recalled last eve's incident…well, it was not considered an incident as it was a delightful …situation with Thorin.

Yes! Her Thorin, her husband, she giggled into her pillow so that no one would hear her.

She was no longer a maiden but a wedded woman!

She sat up suddenly and looked about her and saw Nifir walking into her room with a large bowl of flowers!

"Madam Nifir? What is this?" She stepped out of her bed and approached her helpmaid.

"This is from His Highness, he sends…er…his warm regards to you. And if you're awakened, he is waiting to break fast with you in the dining room."

Lee was blushing as she peeked around to Nifir, "He is waiting for me?" She was about to dash out when Nifir harrumphed and cleared her throat.

Lee turned around and glance at her in puzzlement, "Is something the matter, Madam Nifir? Are you not well?" Lee began to walk towards her maid, a look of concern for her in her face.

Nifir was startled but she quickly recovered and said, "No, I am well, Mistress ThoraLee, I um, I think you need to be properly attired before you dined with His Highness."

Lee looked down at herself and laughed and saw that she was indeed not really dressed properly; she was after all, clad only in Thorin's shirt and nothing else!

"Well, Madam Nifir, I think we shall remedy that, don't you think?" she ran to her help maid hugged her stout shoulders before running towards the bathroom. "Let's get to it, Madam Nifir! Thorin is waiting for me!"

Just as Nifir was walking towards the opened door to the bathroom, she saw a shirt flying through the door and landing on the floor, accompanied by a girlish giggle. Nifir shook her head as she bent down to retrieve the shirt and for once she did not frowned as she muttered about young ladies not acting their age as she disappeared into the room to help her young charge.

Making record time, she was dressed in her shirt and breeches, much to Nifir's disapproval but Lee explained to her that she was liked to work in comfort and shirts and breeches are comfortable for her compared to dresses. Nifir harrumphed her disapproval but Lee was not bothered by it as she thanked her help maid before she hurriedly left for the dining room.

….

Thorin was standing before the tall window, the very window he and Lee had said their vows a few hours before. He smiled as he looked at the balcony, recalling their words; and told himself that when they had discovered the Arkenstone for his father, he would take her to the big forge in the Lonely Mountains and make her their wedding rings, it would be made of Mithril. He would let her etch the date of their wedded date into the bands; it would be last eve's date.

As soon as they break their fast, they needed to get back to their work. He had received word from his father that he had sent word to Frerin, his younger brother, of his impending union, that on Durin's Day would be Thorin's and Lee's wedded day. All of Erebor and Dale would be celebrating their union. It was going to be a big affair; he hoped Lee was prepared for it.

He was startled out of his reverie when he felt a warm hand slid into his own hand.

He grinned as he turned to greet her and again was rendered speechless by her beauty!

She seemed to be glowing every day, every time he looked at her.

"Good morning my rúzín," he said softly as he leaned in to kiss her.

She kissed him back, "And good morning to you, my Khazad-zukȉn."

"Hmmm…you smell like the sun shining brightly."

She giggled, "You can't smell the sun, Thorin!"

"I can, and you are my sun shining." He gathered her in his arms and nuzzled within her neck.

"If I'm your sunshine than you're my…moon glowing," she laughed.

He chuckled with her, "Come on sunshine, let's have some food, I am rather hungry, last eve's activity had made me hungrier than before and we have another long day ahead of us."

Lee's cheeks were reddened as she cast her head down. Thorin squeezed them tighter as he led her to the dining table.

He held the chair for her as she sat again, diagonally from him.

This time, they ate on their own as the servants were about the room.

…..

Later, refreshed and feeling cleaned; ThoraLee and Thorin were back in the basement working diligently into their work.

_The passage ways made by the Durin's clans thousands of years ago starting in deep in Khazad-dûm and to the Western Gate of the Elven world. It was also extended to the Lonely Mountains. The Durin clan while spread far into the south, many remained within Khazad-dûm to toil within the mines and to work through the passages. They dug deep and long. It was believed to have reached as far as the Three Peaks; Baranzinbar__, Zirakzigil, and Bundushathûr_

_Under the Three Peaks, they encountered more foul orcs. The battle was fiercesome, many dwarves were lost but soon they were able to recovered and continued with their work. With the discovery of iron, they were able to forge stronger weapons against the relentless orcs. _

_When the Durins discovered the Mountains under what is now called Erebor. _

Lee paused as she looked at the script in its Cirth form; Ekhëbûr.

"In written form, it is not to be spoken. So, Erebor is as close as it sounds. The ancient kept the secret name of Ekhëbûr even from their own kind…" she muttered as she wrote in her own foot notes on the parchment.

_When Durin the First passed on his final life's breath, it was noted that he did not die but his spirit left his body and turned to stone. No records were kept or indicated of how old when his spirit left him. His line was then passed to Durin I who was his son. Not much was known of_ _Durin I. There was also of note that he found something deep under the mountains in Ekhëbûr where he lived there till his passing in the First Age. _

_When the Second Age began, Durin II also began his reign. Like his father, he continued his work under the deep mountains of Ekhëbûr or Erebor, as it was now called. The dwarves who had forged an alliance with the elves used a common language both race could understand. Through the years, the ancient dwarven language became least used by their own race. Only a few remained still wrote in its language. The Durin text script was one of the few remaining text that was written in the ancient form._

_It was written by Durin II and his son, Durin III._

Lee smile; so that's who wrote the text script! She continued with her translation;

_It was Durin II who discovered a huge white stone that he had described it to be bigger than his heart and as bright as anything he had ever seen. Durin had called it the Járkarstân. The shape of the stone was not round but Durin II decided to work on it, it took him many years to form._

_He didn't see the finished stone as he died before it was done. His son, Durin III completed his father's task. When he was done, the stone had manage to keep its size, bigger than a dwarf's heart, there were hundreds of facets and it seemed to give off its own light. Durin III had called it the heart of the Mountain, as it was founded in the heart of the Lonely Mountain._

Lee sat up straight. The Arkenstone! She had finally found mentioned of the Arkenstone! But where was it location?

_Durin III, upon completion of the Járkarstân was most happy decided to keep it within the family. But word was out among other clans, especially the Iron Hills and the Firebeards that a mysterious diamond that was worth the price of a mountain was discovered!_

_Soon, the heads of six dwarf clans came to claim the Járkarstân. Durin III was furious, he told them his father found the stone and it belonged to the Durin's family. It was no use, the six clans demanded their share. They wanted to see the stone. Durin III had hid it in a place that no one knew where it was. A civil war ensued within the Lonely Mountains! Of course, the Durin dwarves had the advantage as it was their mountains; they knew their ways around the passages inside the underground and soon drove all but one clan out and back to where they came from. The Nogrods clan stayed as long as they could. The King of Nogrod, Gul Menlar II who was Gul Mored's great grandfather, kept sending his people into the mountain in hopes to find the stone. Gul Menlar II knew that if he had possession of the Stone, he would have possession of the mountains._

Lee's interest was perked; why would Gul Menlar II want to own the Lonely Mountains?

_Gul Menlar II's people reported back to him that while they were on the hunt inside the mountain, they saw mountains of gold, as well as silver. Gold the size like they had never seen in their lives. Some were bigger than their own heads! Gul Menlar II's greed began to fester within; he wanted them. He wanted to be the riches King of Dwarves! To take over the Durin clan! Long they had ruled over the other six fathers of dwarves. No more!_

_With the Járkarstân and the horde of gold and silver, he Gul Menlar II will be the new King over the Lonely Mountains and possibly the rest of the realm!_

_It was time to deal with Durin III._

_Gathering the House of Iron Hills and the House of Firebeards, Gul Morel II convinced them they would get their share of gold and silver if they helped him over throw the clan of Durin._

_For four long years, four Houses fought. Durin III fell as well as Gul Morel II but not the House. Durin IV and his son Durin V prevailed, with their alliance forged with the elves. The House of Nogrod, Iron Hills and Fire Beards were driven out of the Lonely Mountains._

_Angry over at their defeat, the House of Iron Hills and Fire Beards broke their alliance with the Nogrods and left, leaving the Nogrods under the new King Gul Morel III's rule._

_Maddened with shame and want for revenge, as well as the lust to possess the Járkarstân, Gul Morel III decided to try once again to invade the Lonely Mountains. He stole into the mountains in the middle of the night under the guise as Durin's men. He tried to penetrate the passageways but he didn't have the key all Durin's men required to gain admittance into the deeper passages. Many of his Gul Morel III's men fell. The alarm was sounded, they hunted him down. Gul Morel III managed to see the Járkarstân before he was beheaded._

Lee winced when she wrote the word; her stomach whirled at the ugliness back then. But he got what was due to him.

Feeling thirsty, she stood up and stretched; she saw that she had written quite a lot as she had ran out of parchment papers, she would need more.

She moved to the first room and saw that Thorin was nowhere to be found.

She massaged her hand as it was sore from writing for so long.

She thought of what she had translated, about Gul Morel III who was Gul Mored's ancestor, she wondered if he knew the treachery he had committed back then and paid the price.

As she wondered about the Nogrod family, she heard footsteps coming from the other room; she knew it was from Thorin.

He came in with a pitcher of wine and glasses. She helped him with the glasses.

As they sat down on the bed, she told him about the translation. Thorin was transfixed as he listened to her tale as they drank.

"The Nogrods seemed to be untrustworthy. I wonder what else did they wanted, their being here?" Thorin muttered.

Lee shook her head confused, "I don't understand, Thorin."

He looked at her a moment than getting out of bed, left the room to move to the little room, he returned a moment later with the wooden box.

He set the box in front of her and sat back down facing her, "What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room." She nodded solemnly.

"The content of this box contains all the records of our ancestors, as well as records owned by the Durin family won from other clans. It is our inheritance, our heritage. The Durin's gold."

She looked from the box to Thorin, "Why are you telling me?"

"Because you're a Durin now, so, it's as much yours as it is mine or Frerin's or little Dis'."

Lee shook her head, "I don't want it."

Thorin smiled, "It doesn't matter Lee, it's ours. The only thing is, we don't know where it is."

He shrugged, "The location is probably where the Arkenstone is, a mystery. If I could find this gold, Erebor would be so rich we'll have the biggest kingdom, more than ten times bigger than the Nogrods and that's saying a lot. We could even buy the entire Nogrod clan as well as the others if we wanted to." He stated.

Her eyes became huge and luminous in the reflection of the torches from the wall. "You don't know the location?" She whispered.

He shook his head. "My father had tasked me to find it and I have not had any success. The location might be in one of these papers. No one knows of this, and now you do, Lee. Now, there are only three people in Erebor who knew about this gold and silver." He gave her a strange look.

Lee returned the look, "Thorin, I won't tell anyone. Can you imagine if you find it? How please your father would be of you?"

He nodded quietly. "It is useless at this moment as we have no idea where it is, my dear." He reached over and captured her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed the inside of her palm sending delicious sensations inside her body.

Lee watched him and smiled, "We will find it, and the Arkenstone. Give me a few more days and I might have the location soon. Oh, I require more parchment papers."

He nodded, "I will fulfill your needs, my Princess," he pulled her towards him and laid her on top of him and began to unbutton her shirt.

Lee giggled but did not protest, "I am hungry, Thorin, and require sustenance husband," she was watching him with bright sparkling eyes, her chest heaving wildly.

He looked at her deeply, "As do I, my beautiful rúzín, but I'm hungry for something else at the moment…" he dipped his head into hers.

….

When Thorin brought Lee up an actual meal, they did not realize the sun had set. Thorin felt horrible keeping her beneath the palace with just breakfast which was earlier that morning. He vowed that he would have the guards sent food to them regularly.

With apologies accepted graciously, Lee was escorted to her quarters by her husband to ready for their meal.

Nifir was there to help her cleaned and dressed again. Half way, she received word from Queen Nur that she and Thorin were invited to dine with her and King Thrain.

Lee was thrilled and nervous at the same time; she had not seen the queen for a while and realized she missed a feminine and a maternal company, so she looked forward to seeing her again. On the other hand, her nervousness was if the queen could spot the change in her and Thorin.

They no longer argue as much as before, that much was clear and the queen was a shrewd and smart woman who would pick up nuances like that fast.

"Mistress ThoraLee," Nifir began as she was combing her hair. "I was wondering how your dress came to be in His Highness' room last eve?"

Lee's cheeks became red instantly but she quickly replied, "I...I…required assistance from His Highness with the buttons; he was most kind to help me in removing them. I must have forgotten and left the dress there, after His Highness lent me his shirt. That's all."

Nifir harrumphed, "I see, His Highness was most kind in his assistance."

Lee nodded but she saw that Nifir had many questions.

They did not discuss about the dress there after.

Soon she was ready; Lee was wearing a green dress this time, it enhanced her green eye this evening and made her right amber eye seemed a darker caramel color and exotic.

She was wearing the silver bracelet with the entwined vines that Thorin had made on her left arm, Jor's bracelet on her right. The Durin's ring was back on the chain hanging on her neck.

She walked out of her room and met Thorin in the halls and smiled; he was dressed similarly in a darker green tunic and black trousers that seemed to wrap around his legs snuggly. Lee arched a brow as she admired his thighs; he looked more handsome in calf-high boots.

She wished they had time for their special… activity.

Thorin saw her look of desire for him and grinned as he moved close to her and whispered, "We are to dine with my father and mother, don't look at me with like that or they will know and I can't resist you."

Her cheeks were instantly inflamed, "Oh!"

He kissed her sweetly, "You are so lovely and still so innocent in so many ways, and it makes you so much endearing."

She giggled as she bent her head down shyly.

A moment later he straightened as he realized they were not alone; the guards were on sentry duty along the halls.

Sighing softly, he took her hand as he led her down to the Dining Halls.

"Let's not keep my father and mother waiting."

She shook her head, then added, "Thorin, will they find out, about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your mother is a very smart woman, and we have not argued since…er…you know…she will know."

Thorin nodded, "You're right, my dear. Nothing will pass her. What do you think?"

Lee grinned mischievously at him, "We'll have a little fun…after dinner, of course."

He arched a brow at her, "Just as long as you don't ruin my new suit," he said seriously.

Lee smacked his arm lightly, "Well, my dress is new too," she looked down at herself.

He nodded, "You looked beautiful by the way. You grow more beautiful every day, my Princess."

He had stopped by the doorway as he was starring at her, holding her hands. He was about to lean in to kiss her when they heard someone in the Dining Halls cleared his throat.

They looked in and saw King Thrain and Queen Nur standing together, watching them. Thrain's face was looking slightly embarrassed to watch his son making lovey eyes at a young lady in front of the guards. Queen Nur was beaming; she was not paying any heed to the guards.

Embarrassed, Thorin bowed to his father then to his mother as he greeted them. ThoraLee did likewise, her face was deeply crimson-red.

"Greetings Father, Mother, you look very well this evening." Thorin moved to kiss his mother's cheeks.

Thrain tried to look stern as he harrumphed, "Are you trying to ruin my appetite?" he shook his son's hand.

Thorin laughed aloud, "Not at all father, I was just telling Lee how lovely she looked tonight in her pretty dress."

Thrain smiled, "Indeed he is right, ThoraLee, you do look lovely."

Lee inclined her head, "Thank you, Your Majesty, you are most kind and generous."

Nur walked to her and gave her a hug, "No, my son and husband are right, you are lovely in a dress. You look so much like a Princess."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

Thrain nodded and smiled again, "Well, shall we dine?"

They all nodded as Thrain led his wife to her seat, Thorin led Lee to hers, seating her next to him.

Dinner was a cheery meal as they dined. Conversations revolved the daily going on around Erebor and Dale.

Thrain had informed Lee that Erimm and Crimm were currently busy working in their workshop, smithing the swords Thrain had commissioned them. Thorin as well as Lee were worried that the two elderly dwarves might overworked and could not handle the work load but Thrain waved them off, assuring them that he had made sure they did not over-exert themselves and a guard was there to keep an eye on them and a maid to serve them in them in her domestic duties. Lee was grateful to the King for his attentiveness. King Thrain shook his head; he expressed his gratitude to Lee for her willingness in helping him with the script text.

When their dinner was over, the servants had cleared the food and left them alone, the four were able to truly discuss about the translation.

Thrain and Nur had read what Lee had translated so far.

"ThoraLee, I cannot tell you how impressed I am and how far you have done in this translation. To think, the Nogrods had been plotting to gain the Durin's gold all these time," Thrain had stood up and was walking around the dining table, he was staring at the fireplace.

"I am much more intrigued with these passages that extended from Moria all the way to here. Where is it at now?" Nur asked.

Thrain shook his head, "I am not sure, and I thought I know the undergrounds well. I believe we will have to make a journey to search for it again."

Nur sighed, "My dear, you have searched the undergrounds so many times already, and yet, you came back empty-handed."

"I'm well aware of it, my dear. Perhaps, once ThoraLee is done with her translation. We might have something much more definite, right?" He glanced at Lee.

Lee nodded, she was holding Thorin's hand under the table, he gave her an assuring squeeze before he released her hand.

"We still do not have the location of the Arkenstone though," Thorin said as he gave her a certain look.

Lee frowned at him, "What are you getting at, Thorin?"

He looked at her, "All I'm saying is that, you've been working on the script for some time and yet, you still have nothing to show for the location. All you have done was how our…my ancestors fought against the other clans."

Lee was becoming angry, "Well, forgive me, your Highness. I am working ever so slowly, translating Cirth is not easy. I am translating what was in the text." Her eyes were getting a little teary. Thorin saw them and stopped but saw her head shaking slightly, so he continued on, in his mind he was cussing himself for being a heel, he hoped she knew he didn't mean a word he had said.

"I'm well aware of how difficult the language is but you had assured us that it was not a problem for you…"

"Enough Thorin!" Nur exclaimed in anguished. "This poor child has done the best she can, you will apologize to her and you will stop badgering her this instance!"

They both were startled and Thorin, contrite, nodded his head muttered, "I apologized, Lee."

She nodded.

Nur stood up, "I'm exhausted, my dear. I'm ready to retire." She said to Thrain.

Thrain looked at them, shook his head and then escorted his wife out of the room, leaving the young couple alone.

Thorin gathered Lee to him, "I think we went too far this time."

Lee nodded, "Yes, we did. I'm sorry, Thorin I didn't mean to hurt your mother…"

He shook his head, "I'll talk to her in the morn. Let's go to bed, my dear it will be all right."

She nodded but she was not convinced.

He sensed her unease and stopped walking, turned to face her, "Lee, it's going to be all right. Mother will recover after I have a word with her in her morn, all right?" He lifted her chin to look at her. She nodded and gave him a weak smile.

He leaned in to kiss her, "Come on my sweet, let's go change and I'll meet you outside the room and we'll head back to the basement. I would like to have an early start in the morn."

She nodded.

They walked to their chambers and then Thorin led her to her room and said, "By the way, I think we have achieved something tonight."

"Oh? And what is that?"

"My parents did not suspect us at all."

She grinned and nodded as she moved into her room.

….

End of Chapter 17


	18. Chapter 19

Coming Of Age – Chapter 18

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Despite being snugly wrapped within Thorin's arms, ThoraLee slept fitfully. She awoke early and saw that he was awaken too.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to him when she saw him watching her.

He shook his head, "I couldn't sleep either." He reached out to stroke her cheek.

She smiled sadly, "I didn't like to upset your mother, I have come to like her very much."

He nodded at her, "She likes you a lot too." Then he sat up and said. "I guess I will go up and talk to her," he moved to get off the bed when she held his hand, Thorin glanced at her in askance.

"May I come too?" She asked.

He smiled as he nodded, "Certainly, I should have asked you." He held his hand to her.

Smiling widely, she grabbed it and together they left the room and made their way up.

As they reached near the Queen's chambers, they saw the maid carrying a tray of breakfast food.

Thorin asked her if it was for the Queen, the maid nodded. Thorin smiled as he reached for it, he offered to take the tray for his mother.

Laughing delightfully, they knocked on her chamber doors and were bidden to enter, Lee opened the door for Thorin who carried the tray through.

The queen was pleasantly surprised to see the two walk in smiling together.

"Well, this is a delightful morning gift, to what do I owe such a visit?"

Thorin glanced at Lee who nodded shyly at him, "We wished to offer our apologies to you, last eve when we caused you much grief. It was not our intention to do so, mother. Please accept our apologies." He knelt down to her, Lee also came near her and sat by her, her head was down.

Nur was emotional as some tear leaked down, "Oh my dears," as she lay her hands on their heads. "There is nothing to…I…very well, I accept your apologies. Now, get up, both of you."

Lee looked up and smiled happily at the queen, "Thank you, your Majesty. I was feeling so horrible all night."

Thorin nodded, "Yes mother, we didn't sleep well at all." He was exchanging looks with Lee.

Thorin didn't realize his gaffe when he said 'we' but Nur caught it as she watched his son closely and then Lee. And was startled when she caught them their exchange.

Nur wanted to cry at the moment, cry of joy; indeed, her son was truly in love.

And the young lady reciprocated his love. She loved him in return very much.

Dis decided to choose the moment to break the spell as she awakened.

Lee blinked and smiled as she stood up, "Your Majesty, if you'll permit me, I'll see to Dis while you have your meal before it gets cold." Nur nodded happily as Lee went to the cradle and scooped up the baby who instantly stopped crying as she became entranced with Lee's happy face.

"Hello, little Princess, you are the most adorable baby in the kingdom! The most beautiful little lady of them all! Look at your beautiful blue eyes, yes, pretty princess, you have your brother's eyes. You are going to charm a lot of men when you grow up! Your brothers are going to take up arms to defend you! Then again, we are going to teach you to fight. Yes…" Lee continued to talk to Dis as she walked around the chamber.

Thorin sat with Nur as he watched Lee with Dis who was smiling back and gurgling delightfully at her voice.

Nur smiled and said, "ThoraLee is really delightful, isn't she?"

Thorin nodded happily, "Yes she is, mother. And remarkable."

Nur nodded agreeably.

Lee had stopped before a big wall, she was still talking to Dis as she pointed to a large Dwarven runic word carved into the wall, "Look Dis, your first Cirth word 'Durin', yes, this is the word of your ancestor…Durin." Dis gurgled more as she flailed her hands about happily while Lee stared at the big word, and all around on the border of the wall was the name used repeatedly as a motif along the edges but in much smaller prints. Lee ran her hand along the border and found upon closer inspection that the smaller prints were carved into the wall except for one in the far right corner, this one was raised outward. How peculiar.

Dis decided to pull her hair at the moment and yanked it hard as she squealed with laughter.

"Ow! You have some strength, little one…Thorin, my Khazad-zukȉn, a hand?" Lee was laughing hard as she approached to where Thorin and the Queen where sitting.

Nur's eye brow shot up at the endearment. Lee didn't realize the slip as Thorin went to her as he helped her extricate from her entanglement.

Thorin stayed with them as he blocked their view from his mother, he bent to lay his head on Lee's bosom while he stared at Dis, stroking her baby soft cheeks. Dis was mesmerized at the closeness of her older brother's face. She reached up and squeezed his nose as she laughed.

"This child certainly has a strong grasped. "That hurts, Dis." Thorin was wrinkling his nose the baby squeezed his nose hard but he was grinning at her.

Nur could not help as she observed the little scene before her; even though Lee was holding her child, she could see them holding her own baby, Lee's and Thorin's child. She could picture their future as they stood under the name of Durin but their back was to her and she didn't like the image. She wanted to tell them to turn around, that it would be much more portentous to see them facing her.

But the moment was gone when the nurse came to take Dis for her morning meal.

After Dis had left the room, Thorin and ThoraLee decided that they too had better made their way back to the basement.

Nur thanked them happily and bade them to return whenever they like, and with a nod, they left.

Queen Nur smiled as they left her chambers holding hands.

_Ah, yes, I wonder last eve was even a ruse they played on Thrain and I?_ Nur smiled to herself as she tried to recall last eve's events. With a shrug, she stood up and went to dress, smiling as she ready her day with her husband; she had much to tell him about the two.

…

_The Arkenstone as it was now commonly called, was proudly displayed above the throne of Durin IV in the Receiving Halls of Erebor. Gul Morel IV seething in anger came to see the Stone, tried to obtain it by offering Durin IV an alliance by means of an union. Durin IV refused his offer, he had just wedded and his wife was with child. _

_Gul Morel IV died a mad man, he was so obsessed with the need to possess the Arkenstone that it ate at his heart that he died despondent. His son Gul Rugor I took over the clan of Nogrods. He was a fearsome dwarf, unlike his forefathers. He was more of the strategist. Once again, he tried to gather the House of Iron Hills and Firebeards. But the Firebeards did not want a civil war; they were still licking their wounds from the last one. The Iron Hills, stronger and bigger, agreed to invade the Lonely Mountains, also hoped to reap the now famous Durin gold, and the Arkenstone that proudly dwelled in the Halls of Erebor._

_Durin V was the new King now. He knew the Nogrods and Iron Hills were coming with a bigger army. The elves, allied with Men, were busy with their own battle with Sauron and his evil army had no time for Durin._

_Durin V had no choice but to destroy the passages to the Western Gate and Khazad-dûm. He sealed all the entrances so the enemies could not find their way from underground. The Lonely Mountains was cut off from anywhere._

"So, that is why we can't find the passage ways anymore." Lee uttered.

_With the sounds of drums the third civil war began. It went on for many years. Many dwarves from both sides lost their lives defending their House. The Arkenstone was taken down by Durin V while the battle ensued. Durin V had hidden the Stone in a chamber where only a true Durin was able to retrieve it._

_The civil war of the dwarves ended when Gul Rugor II was mortally wounded. Before his death, he called for the end of the war. Durin VI agreed to the truce but never trusted the Nogrods, made Gul Mon signed a treaty, that the Nogrods would never claim anything belonging to the Durins or Erebor again. The treaty was carved into a wall for all to see in case the descendants of Nogrods tried to rescind the treaty to the descendents of Durins._

_End._

Lee flipped to the next page of the script text and saw that it was the last page.

"Well, that does not do us any good. I still need the location of the Stone!"

Thorin looked up from where he was sitting, "Something the matter, rúzín?"

Lee shook her head as she turned to him and gave him the translated parchment papers. Thorin began to read.

He smiled when he reached the end of the translation.

"So we have solid proof that the Nogrods have no claim to our gold? Great, now we have another piece of the puzzle to find."

Lee was frustrated, "Thorin! There is no indication of the location of the Stone!"She almost cried.

She stared at the script as she laid on the side of her cheek on the table, staring at the text in an angle in anguish.

Thorin feeling bad for her stood up and moved over to her and rub her back, easing her tension, he picked up her hand and kissed it, to cheer her up but as he moved her hand, her green diamond ring, reflected by the flame from the lamp near the table cast its brilliance also made a multitude of rainbow on the page of the text and Lee caught something reflected on the last page of the text script.

She snapped her head upright, waved her finger again, causing Thorin to look at her with concern, "Lee? Are you all right? Do you need to lie down?"

Lee shook her head as she tilted her head to the left and then to the right so that her cheek was almost touching the text, her ring finger still in the air in front of the light.

Thorin was beginning to be overly concern with her well being.

"Lee?" He called to her again.

"Shh…in a moment, Thorin…I think we have something…" she looked for a parchment sheet and began to draw a…circle?

Thorin was quiet as he watched her drew something from the last page of the text script which when he looked at it was completely blank.

What was she seeing?

She was using her green diamond as some sort a reflection, as she moved it slightly around, she began to write something, it was not in Cirth but of Elvish writing.

When she was done, she smiled as she turned to him and said, "We have the location, Khazad-zukȉn."

_The heir may only enter with the key of Durin under Ekhëbûr and Deol. The Heart is home of the heir._

Thorin repeated the word under his breath but it didn't make any sense to him as he shook his head. He stared at the parchment as it was written in a language Thorin had never seen before so he asked her.

Lee explained, "This is called Silvan, it is an ancient language learned and used by the woodland elves that lived in the Vale of Anduin, where I spent my young life my father brought Jor and I to live."

Then she continued, "You know Ekhëbûr is the ancient name of Erebor and Deol is Dale."

Thorin stared at her in disbelief, "You mean whatever we are suppose to find is between Erebor and Dale? But that is about more than a day's journey in between the palace and Dale!"

Lee nodded in amazement, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"And the key? I have never heard of a key belonging to the house of Durin. Lee, we must see my father and tell him about this."

Then he gathered her in his arms, "You did it. You completed the entire text script, my rúzín."

Lee smiled happily, "We did it. Come; let's not keep your father in suspense."

He nodded as he released her and gathering all the parchment papers and holding her hand, he led her up.

….

They were in Thrain's private quarters; all his guards and servants were dismissed.

"A key?" Thrain puzzled. "I'm afraid I don't know what this means." He looked up from the parchment paper.

Nur had just finished reading the text.

"What carving? I have never seen any carvings and I would love to show those insufferable Nogrods the carvings, that will shut them up." Nur said imperiously.

Thorin and Lee were sitting together as they barely listened to the King and Queen, their hands entwined, eyes gazing at each other.

Nur noticed they were quiet, she nudged at her husband who frowned at his wife at first, then when she pointed at them, he shook his head and whispered, "At least they are not tearing each other's head off."

Nur nodded.

While Lee was staring at Thorin, she saw behind him, the same large wall that was in the queen's room. Lee stood up and went over to the wall for a closer inspection. Thorin followed her, "What is it?"

"This wall…the border…it just doesn't look right."

Thorin raised his hand felt the border and saw that the carving was also carved inwards until he came to the far right corner, the carving that was raised up and was sharp that it cut his finger.

"Thorin!" She held his hand.

He smiled at her, "It's just a slight cut, my dear."

He saw the chain on her neck; attached to it was the Durin ring; he frowned and wondered. The Durin ring had been with the family around the time of the civil war with the other clans.

"Lee, may I see the ring, the Durin ring."

She nodded as she removed from her neck; he removed it from the chain and examined it. The Durin runic carving on the ring was indented…Thorin held it against the carving; the size of the indent of the ring matched with the raised print on the wall. He wondered as he turned he ring around to fit the ring into the raised carving and it fit into it perfectly!

"Father!"Thorin was yelling for him excitedly. "Mother!"

Thrain and Nur hurriedly moved to Thorin's side as they watched their son pushed the ring in, at the same time, the entire wall panel began to move in, the King, Queen and Lee moved back, they did not know what to expect from the wall.

As the wall came to a stop, Thorin slid to the right but it didn't move, so he tried the left and it began to slide. The panel soon opened to a set of stairs down wards.

It was dark and musky from years of unused. Thorin unhooked a torch and stood looking at his father, "Father, shall we?"

Thrain looked at his wife who shook her head, "I think you two should go, the parchment said, only the heir of Durin may enter. The key has been the ring all this time. I hope you find what you seek, husband. My son, keep your father safe."

Lee ran to Thorin and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, "Your mother is right, only the heir of Durin will finish the rest of this journey onwards. I wish you success, my Khazad-zukȉn." She pressed her lips to his hard before releasing him. She then stepped back and stood next to the queen.

Thorin nodded as he stared longingly at her but eager to enter the dark chasm and beyond.

Thrain nodded at his wife as he stepped within, a torch in his hand. Thorin giving Lee a final look followed his sire and the two men disappeared thereafter.

Nur turned to Lee and smiled encouragingly at her and said, "What say we have something to drink, my dear?"

Lee nodded as Nur led her couches.

…..

End of Chapter 18

.


	19. Chapter 20

Coming Of Age – Chapter 19

.

The air was stale when Thrain and Thorin began their descent into the stone steps. It went for a long time. Thorin estimated that they were about five or six levels beneath surface before they came before to a leveled surfaced. It opened to a large cavern that tunneled onwards in front of them. The two men continued to walk slowly forward as they did not know what to expect what was before them. The tunnel was long and large, along the walls Thorin saw wall torches lined along the ways. He did not light them as they did not want to use them yet until they were sure how far they had to go.

Thrain looked about him in wonder, "All these years, we have been living in the palace, and we did not of its existence beneath us. Durin V had done well to hide it."

"Too well, it seemed, thank goodness he thought to record it."

"Why did he use the wood elves' language to record it? Why not in Cirth?"

"He was afraid the text script might fall into the wrong hands or someone had found out the secret. Who in any dwarf clan learned about this ancient Silvan language?" Thorin asked as they continued their mysterious journey.

Thrain looked at his son, the fire of his torch reflecting on his face, giving him an eerie glow, "Your ThoraLee did."

Thorin's face softened at her name, "Yes, we were fortunate she did, or we would not have gotten where we are at now."

Thrain nodded. "She is an amazing young lady."

"Indeed, sire." He was grinning widely.

"You like her very much, don't you?"

"No sir, I love her very much."

"Ah!" Thrain nodded.

They walked on in silence as they looked about the tunnel which as wide, as wide as they could fit more than five dwarves walking abreast.

"Where do you think we are at?" Thrain said as he glanced above him, looking at the ceiling.

"If we were to walk to Dale, we would be halfway by now." Thorin said.

Thrain nodded

Half an hour more Thrain saw the Durin sign carved into the wall on his right. Casting the torch, Thorin saw the notch in the corner of the carving and put the ring into it, and like the wall panel in his father's chambers, he was able to push into it. It was a door! A big stone door, Thrain and Thorin used their might to push it open, it slowly opened with a loud groan. Finally it opened up and both men walked within the pitched dark room.

Lifting their torches above them, they gasped aloud! The entire room was illuminated by their torches to show them what was before them was stacked from floor to ceiling, and the ceiling was well above their heads, gold coins. Thousands, upon thousands of shiny gold coins staring back at Thrain and Thorin! Father and son exchanged looks and began to laugh out loud, they fell to their knees and continued laughing for a while as they held on to each other's shoulder's for support. Tears of joy seeped from the corner of their eyes.

As their laughter subsided, they stood up and began to look about them. Wordless at the amount of gold before their eyes!

As they walked further in, Thorin estimated the room to be twice the size of the Receiving Halls in the palace of Erebor! He swallowed hard as he gave a mental calculation of the amount of gold in this room and almost staggered; they literally could buy all the dwarven clans and twice more! He bent at his knees and began to take deep breaths; _what he would give to see Lee's reaction!_

"Are you all right, son?" Thrain came over to him, his face were concerned for him.

Thorin nodded, "Yeah, just give me a few minutes."

Thrain continued his way, "Just take slow breath, slow and easy."

"Leave me alone, father."

Thorin glared at the back of his father when he heard his sire laughing too happily, "Fathers!" He groused.

One hour later, they found three more rooms similar in size, equally in amount of gold coins. There was another larger room filled with silver coins with three metal chests filled to the brim with gemstones; emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds and other lesser value gems.

"How are we to transport them to Erebor?" Thrain wondered as he hefted a handful of gold coins in his hands.

Thorin shrugged, "We can use the ponies here for transporting. The tunnel is large enough to fit the animals and wagons…"

They began to discuss many things regarding the gold and bringing the gold to Erebor as they made their way back to the palace.

….

ThoraLee was napping in the Queen's private quarters when she was awakened, feeling that she was been watched.

Whoever it was came near her and began nudging her rudely with his booted toes.

"Hey you, get your lazy bones up!" The strange voice said annoyingly. Lee kept her eyes closed, pretending to be still sleeping.

The stranger would not leave her alone but nudged her harder; Lee was now thoroughly annoyed herself; she was having a rather pleasant dream about Thorin when she was awaken by this person. Queen Nur had permitted her to rest in her quarters while waiting for Thorin and the King's return, the Queen herself was tending to Dis.

_All right, whoever you're, nudge me one more time, you'll wish you'll never touch me at all! _Lee thought to herself.

Of course, her annoying nudger did it again.

Before he could do it again, Lee's nudger found himself being smacked flat on his stomach, his left cheek pressed hard against the floor by the divan she was lying on, her dagger pointed on his neck, his hands held tightly up by her hand hard behind his back.

"Oi! Wha! Who are you?" Her nudger was wincing hard, the unexpected impact jarred and stunned him.

Lee leaned close to his ears as she growled at him, "Someone who was having a very pleasant nap and did not appreciated being awakened by your stinking boot."

"Do you even know who I am?"

"I don't care if you're the king of the mountains or …"

"Ah! Frerin! I see you've met my intended!" Thorin's voice cut in. "My dear, please do not hurt my brother too much, he's mother's favorite you know?"

Thrain's amused voice said, "I'm sure Frerin deserves what's coming for him, right Lee?"

Lee smiled as she looked up at Thorin and Thrain, she still had a grip on Frerin, "Oh, hello! How did your journey went?"

"Um, please…let me go?"

Lee looked down at Frerin, "Not until you apologize for being rude to me."

"But I thought you were a servant and you were being lazy…ow! Alright, alright, alright, I'm sorry I was being rude to you…er…?'

"Her name is ThoraLee." Thorin grinned as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry I was rude to you, ThoraLee. Now, will you please let me go?"

"Hmm, he looks pretty good lying that way, if you ask me." Thorin said.

"Thorin!" Frerin cried aloud.

But ThoraLee had pushed him off her as she released him. She walked to Thorin and he gathered her in his arms.

Frerin was rubbing his neck as he stood up, glaring at her, "Where did you find her anyways"

Thorin ignored his brother as he pressed a kiss on her lips and whispered, "I missed you, my dear."

Frerin arched a brow at the scene before him and turned to his father, "Is that my brother? The same one that said he won't fall in love that easily not long ago?"

Thrain nodded, "That's him."

"Frerin!" Nur came in with her arms opened, her face lit up to see her youngest son.

Frerin rushed to his mother and gave her a tight hug as she laughed, "Oh dear, not too tight!"

"Mother! How have you been?"

"I am well, now that you're home," Her smile faltered when she saw a nick on his neck and frowned. "What happened to you?" she pointed at the wound.

Thorin laughed as he looked at their mother, "Lee happened, that's what." He quickly told her what happened.

Nur shook her head as she grinned and put her hand on her son's shoulder, "Never approached an unsuspecting person, you never know they may be armed."

Frerin shook his head, "I thought she was a maid and she had fallen asleep on her work."

"It's all right Frerin, when I first met her, she gave me a black eye and a broken nose."

"And you threw me into the dungeons," Lee added.

Frerin stared at her, "Wait a minute, I remember you! You were at the…the Coming of Age party and you were involved in the fight and oh yes, you punched Thorin! Oh!" Frerin began to guffaw. Nur who had not heard about the incident were laughing hard at his son.

Thorin blushed hard as he held onto Lee who was laughing as well, he tried to glare at her but she shook at him.

"Not funny, my dear, " he growled at her.

Later, Thrain sat Frerin down and told him all that had happened.

Frerin's eyes were wide as he tried to absorb the size his father and Thorin told him about the gold. "I want to see it."

"Tomorrow Frerin, we will show you." Thorin said. "It's getting now."

Frerin nodded, "What about the Arkenstone? Any idea about it?"

They shook their heads but Lee stood up and walked up to the wall panel. "What about this?"

Thorin stood up as well, he removed his ring and like before, he put the ring into the small corner of the raised carving of the small Durin name.

Again it fit and turned. The panel moved but this time instead of sliding like the one in the King's chambers, this panel flipped around, from left to right, it came to a stop after it spun one hundred and eighty degrees. The panel clicked to a stop. All four of them gasped and ooh'ed at the same time. Directly behind the runic word of Durin was the Arkenstone! It shone as bright as if it was a living stone. Just as it was described in the text script, the Arkenstone was bigger than the size of a dwarf's heart! There were over a hundred facets on the face of the Stone.

"I don't believe it, I just don't believe it…" Thrain was muttering to himself, Nur had moved to his side, he gripped his wife's hand for assurances.

Frerin was laughing as he said, "The Stone has been in your chamber all these years, mother! All these years! Ha!" He stooped slightly down with his hands on his knees as he continued to laugh. "By Durin's tomb…no wait, Durin's panel!" He was reduced to another bout of laughter.

Thrain and Nur turned to look at their youngest son as Thrain eyed at him, "I think someone took the mattock too hard in the head." Nur nodded in agreement as they turned back to admire the Arkenstone.

"You did it again, rúzín." Thorin whispered as he led Lee out of the queen's chambers and walked down to the palace gardens.

"We did it together, Khazad-zukȉn." She looked at him adoringly.

….

Much later, when they sat down for supper, the Durins had agreed that they would wait for the arrival of Thorin's and Frerin's distant cousins Oin's and Gloin's arrival from Dunland near the southern part of the Misty Mountains. They were to be at Erebor within the week.

Oin and Gloin were also from the Durin's family line, as well as Balin and Dwalin; they would have a very wealthy share of the Durin gold and they would be assisting in removing the gold from the sub terrain chambers to Erebor.

Now there was one more thing they had to do before they could rest; to find the treaty between Durins and the Nogrods.

Nur and Lee decided to visit Dis while Thrain busied himself with his daily reports; the princes were left on their own for a private reunion but they were still excited about the find and all that happened that afternoon.

Thorin was recalling the translation, "'The treaty was carved into a wall for all to see in case the Nogrods descendants tried to rescind the treaty from the Durin descendants'. It had to be in a public place…like the Receiving Halls?"

Frerin stood up and began to walk towards the Receiving Halls and looked about him. Thorin who had followed his brother did likewise.

"…for all to see…" Thorin muttered as he moved about the Halls.

The guards were eyeing at the two young princes as they were walking about looking around oddly, wondering if the two were feeling all right. They began to feel worried for them as they kept their hands on the hilt of their swords.

"Anything Frerin?" Thorin asked arms akimbo.

Frerin shook his head, "No, nothing. I think we should call this off till the morn, I'm all for a mug of beer or two at the moment, what say you, brother?"

Thorin nodded and smile, "I'm of the same mind." He walked towards Frerin and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and walked away from the Halls togethe. "And you can tell me all about your weapons training."

Frerin grinned, "And you can tell me about your intended and how she agreed to wed you."

"You wish." Thorin shook his head as he smacked his brother.

It was very late in the night when Thorin came into Lee's bedroom and gathered her and brought her into his bedroom and laid her with him in his bed, Lee nuzzled into his neck as she smiled and sighed contentedly as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

….

End of Chapter 19

….


	20. Chapter 21

Coming Of Age – Chapter 20

.

ThoraLee was feeling homesick as she watched the Durin family sitting together breaking their fast in the morning as they discussed the trip to the sub terrain chamber.

She had not seen her father for nearly a week and she missed him terribly. As she had no desire to see the gold they found, she thought of returning home to see her father and her Uncle Crimm.

First, she had to convince Thorin to let her borrow a pony to make a trip to Dale; she wondered what his reaction would be…

"Only if you'll permit me to send a guard or two with you," Thorin said, sounding concerned.

Lee shook her head, "Thorin, I am just visiting my father, in my house. I think I am safe in travelling by myself."

Thorin shook his head as he declared firmly as he looked at her pointedly, "No, you are my… future wife and Princess of Erebor. You will have protection."

"When you came to see me in Dale, you did not have any guards," she pointed, her anger growing.

Frerin was watching their heated exchange with interest. Thrain and Nur were shaking their heads, bracing for the worst.

"That is because I am a …" Thorin stopped himself as he pursed his lips, his fists clenched.

"What? That you're a man?" She finished his sentence for him. "Come on, Thorin. We're not going through with this again, you know I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Thorin shook his head stubbornly, "You're getting an escort, end of discussion."

"You are so…stubborn! I change my mind. I'm staying" She put her arms across her chest in anger.

Thorin threw his hands up, "No, you'll go see your father, as you wanted…with an escort, Lee."

Lee glared at him, "I. Am. Not. Going."

Thorin glared back at her in frustration, "FINE! Stay!" He stood up and left the dining Halls.

Frerin arched his brow and said, "Well, that was interesting, do they always…?"

"Stuff it, Frerin." Nur told him quietly. "Now is not the time to jest."

Frerin opened his mouth, he was about to say more when he saw his father's stern look and he clammed up immediately.

Lee stood up and with eyes down, said, "If you'll excuse me I…" she couldn't go on as she shook her head and left the room.

Later Thorin found her sitting alone in the gardens on the stone bench, looking forlorn; it broke his heart to see her thus.

_If you love her, trust her and let her go…_

A voice came within his heart.

He sat next to her but she ignored him, turning away from him as she wiped some tears from her cheeks.

"Lee…" He began.

"Go away Thorin." She shook her head.

_Ouch!_

He put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it away in anger.

"Lee! I'm sorry!"

She shook her head as she refused to look at him.

"Lee, I just want you to be safe. I don't know what would happen if something were to happen to you…"

"It's okay, Thorin. I'm stay…"

"No…go. I know you missed your father. I want you to see him. Just promise me you'll be safe." He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.

She nodded as she leaned against her forehead to his.

He then nudged her for a kiss as she obliged him.

"No guards, no escorts, though."

Thorin sighed and agreed reluctantly, "Fine, no escort, just Grakarbor."

"Grakarbor? What is that?"

Thorin chuckled, "Come, I'll take you to meet him." He held her hand and led her to the stables.

…

When they arrived at the stables, there was a fine looking chocolate brown pony with a rich leather saddle and reins held by a guard.

Thorin nodded at the guard as he took the reins from him, "Lee, meet Grakarbor…Grakarbor, this is ThoraLee my rúzín." He said softly to the beast. The pony neighed as he nudged against Thorin's shoulder in acknowledgement. "Grakarbor is my pony. He has been with me since I was very young, so he is quite an old man but he has yet many years to go. He knows his way to Dale and back. He won't get you lost, right old man?"

Lee giggled as she stroked the pony's snout; Grakarbor sniggered at Lee in response.

"Hmmm…I see he likes you already; you seem to have a way with everyone, beasts and people." Thorin watched her indulgently.

Lee moved close to him and whispered, "I'm just in love with one …person."

Thorin grinned, "I wonder who this lucky person?"

Lee laughed, "My new friend, Grakarbor."

Thorin looked at her and burst out laughing as Lee mounted the saddle.

As his laugher subsided, Thorin became somber and said to her, "Please be careful, rúzín,"

Lee nodded as she leaned down and kissed him, "Don't worry, Khazad-zukin, I'll be fine. I'm going to see my father, that's all."

"You have your dagger?"

She patted the small weapon she kept within her boot and nodded, "I'll be back before dark, my love."

Thorin nodded as he walked with her and the pony to the courtyard.

As she rode away after waving to him happily, Thorin couldn't help but felt uneasy letting her go by herself; he was tempted to follow her but he knew she would not like it.

And he had other pressing things to do; his family was waiting for him; they were waiting for him to make the trip to see the gold coins.

As he walked back to his family, he turned to look out to catch a glimpse of Lee one more time and thought of the irony; she was travelling to Dale from Erebor above grounds while he would be travelling in the same direction, to Dale from Erebor, only he would be undergrounds.

…..

Lee was still smiling as she rode on Grakarbor, looking about her. The scenery was the same yet different. Lake Dale on the left of the dirt road and a large field on her right; a gentle breeze blowing the wild grass as she breathed in the scent of wild flowers growing by the side of the road. It had been but about four days since she had last travelled from Dale to Erebor. When she and Thorin rode to the palace to help out the Durin family with the text script; Spring is here, the flowers are blooming prettily; she was in love with the most handsome prince of this land! Her life could not have been better.

_How much had changed! _Lee thought to herself. She was daydreaming about Thorin as the pony plodded along the dirt road when she heard voices around the bend of the road. She didn't think much about it as folks travelled back and forth regularly.

Then she heard _her_ loud voice and groaned; Shia Cimbolli.

And whenever Shia was about, there would be two or three of her cronies. _Great, just play nice and move along,_ Lee told herself.

But when she cleared the bend, her heart sank as she spotted Shia's brother Crudd and two of his friends, both of them equally fat and big as Crudd. Shia was with three of her friends, they were eating some sticky cakes, their mouths were dirty and sticky looking; they were standing by the side of the dirt road.

_Hope they were in a good mood_, Lee thought.

Grakarbor chose this moment to neigh his presence; all five of them turned their beady eyes upon her.

Crudd threw his half eaten cake on the ground and stood in the middle of the road, his two sidekicks threw their cakes down regretfully as they stood by their leader.

"Well, well, well, if it wasn't the high and mighty ThoraLee. Back from scrubbing the dirt floors of the mines?" Crudd sneered.

The two men laughed.

Shia, her mouth full of sticky cake was eyeing the pony, "Crudd, I wanna pretty pony! Give me pony!" She whined, the pieces of cake sputtering out of her mouth but she paid no heed to it.

Crudd walked to Lee and grabbed the reins and jerked it hard, "You heard Shia, she wants the pony! Give it to her. NOW!"

Lee shook her head, "Crudd, this is not mine, I borrowed it from…"

She didn't get a chance to finish her explanation when Crudd pushed her off the saddle. Lee fell down hard onto the dirt road, she hit her left shoulder hard upon the hard surface.

They laughed at her.

Lee glare at them angrily, "Give the pony back, Crudd, he's not mine."

Grakarbor was rearing on his hind legs in protest as Crudd was pulling his reins hard at him, he was neighing in fear as he tried to kick him.

Crudd began to panic as he turned to the other two men and yelled at them, "Don't just stand there! Help me!"

The two exchanged scared looks as they move cautiously to the angry pony who was eyeing them as well and trying its best to kick them with its hind legs as well as its front legs,

Finally in big jerk of its neck, Grakarbor managed to free itself from Crudd's grasp and for good measure gave him a very good hard kick in the face!

"OW!" Crudd screamed as he covered his face, bent in the waist.

"Run, Grakarbor! Run, my friend!" Lee yelled at the pony as Grakarbor began to run. . Crudd's cronies gave chase after the animal as they ran towards Dale.

Shia turned her anger at Lee who was getting up, holding her shoulder. "You will pay for hurting my brother!"

"Shia, I didn't do anything! He tried to hurt the pony...Argh!"Lee yelped out loud as she felt something slammed against her back as she staggered to the ground. One of the Shia's friends had hit her with a stick.

Her breath knocked out for the moment as she tried to take in some air and regained momentum; she wished for two things now, one was that she had listened to Thorin and accepted the escort and two, that her brother Jor was here with her, he would be able to help her get out of this predicament.

Now, she was getting really furious at them and told herself that when she had gotten out of this jam, they would wish they had not done what they did to Grakarbor.

Shia was laughing her piggish laughter as she and her three friends, one of them hold the stick, laughing at Lee.

Lee saw that they were standing next to a great oak tree and the lowest limb was hanging loose; if she had jumped up at it and pulled it, it would break off, she could use it as a weapon.

But before she could run for the tree, Crudd jumped on her and began to pummel and punch her blindly. Lee tried to cover her head with her hands as she lay on the ground.

A few minutes later, Crudd fell off of her, exhausted as he kicked her hard.

Lee lay on the dirt as she eyed him, Crudd's face was a bloody mess; Grakarbor's hoof had made its mark on Crudd's forehead. _Serve the bastard right for being cruel to the poor animal!_

"Crudd!" Shia was crying at her brother

Lee got up and began to move slowly towards the tree.

She saw the other girls moving towards her, swinging the stick at her maliciously. Lee reached for her dagger in her boot.

As they reached close to Lee, she slashed at them her dagger managed to slash at one of their face, the girl howled in pain as she grabbed her face, blood seeping through her fingers. The other two retreated as they eyed their friend with concern.

"Get her!" Shia ordered her cronies as she knelt by her brother.

But they hesitated, not wanting to be marred by Lee.

Lee took the opportunity to run for the tree but she dropped the dagger as she climbed the oak tree and jumped on the half-broken limb. It gave out completely, Lee fell and rolled to the ground grabbing the broken oak branch with her.

When she stood up, she saw that they were circling closer as Lee walked away from them, holding the limb as a shield as well as a weapon.

As she was moving backwards, away from them, she saw that she was on the edge of the lake. "Look ladies, I don't want any trouble. Just get away from me, go back home and forget all this happened."

"Not a chance, Lee. You'll pay for what that pony done to Crudd."

Lee frowned, _were they crazy? What had she to do with the pony? She certainly didn't tell Grakarbor to attack Crudd. She wished she did, but she had no control over the beast!_

"Look, I have no control over the pony. I can't help if he kicked Crudd's face."

One of Shia's friend charged at her with the stick but Lee batted her with the oak limb, connected her on her head, the friend fell to the ground knocking her unconscious.

The other one screamed as she charged at Lee, she gave the limb a big swipe and it hit her on her backs, bringing her to her knees, she was panting as she was catching her breaths, their dresses torn where Lee had struck them.

Tired and bruised as well, Lee was also breathing hard when she felt a sharp piercing jab in her left shoulder!

When she turned her head slowly, pain pounded in her head as she saw the handle of her dagger sticking out of her shoulder, Shia standing above her.

Lee fell to the ground, she could barely move.

"Is she dead?" She heard Crudd called out. "I hope she is, she deserves to die!"

Lee felt a hard kick on the side of her waist as she winced hard but she didn't make any noise.

She stayed where she was hoping they would leave but it was futile wish as the two girls came over and kicked her in her head a few times until Lee began to feel dizzy.

She began to tell herself to stay strong…stay strong…Thorin, for Thorin…Thorin…

"Throw her in the water!" Lee heard Shia told the other girls.

"She's heavy, you need to help us!" They whined at her.

"Fine! Grab her legs!" She felt someone, presumably Shia roughly grabbing her arms and she felt her legs being held and she was dragged as rough gravel grazed against her body and soon, cool wetness.

Then she began to sink but not by much, only to her shoulders, the cold water soaking the wound, acting as a balm but soon it began to sting and then it started to hurt a lot; the dizziness was really making her head throbbed.

"She's not sinking!" One of the girls was yelling, her voice panicking.

"Push her into the deeper water!"

"I'm not going in there! I don't want to drown!" Shia was screaming at them.

"Here, use the limb."

"Wait!"Shia yelled as Lee felt her hand being pulled up and Shia yanked her green diamond ring off her finger. "Mine!" Her piggish said announced triumphantly as she put on the ring on her finger and smiled happily at the bauble. "Now, get that limb and push her into the deep water! NOW!" She ordered her cronies.

Lee felt herself sinking deep into the water as she began to cry, not because her life was about to end but because of the lost of her beloved ring; the ring Thorin had made.

Thorin…she would never see him again.

Lee, her left shoulder as if on fire, saw the broken oak limb and made to grab it with her right arm and hung onto it. Too tired to swim to the shore, she clung onto the oak limb as her eyes closed, letting the calm darkness claim her while her body washed with the current, along the lake that flow into a river that left Dale, and away from Erebor…

….

End of Chapter 20


	21. Chapter 22

Coming Of Age – Chapter 21

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Unbeknownst to the perpetrators, their misdeeds, their horrible crime was witnessed by little Bels and her friend Nuin who were hiding in the bushes in the fields when they saw Lee confronted by the bullies. Bels and Nuin were scared of the bullies and were about to run off when something made them stayed and watched.

They watched the entire brutal beating and stabbing of Lee. Bels in tears as her friend Nuin bravely held her hand.

"They have killed Lee!" Bels kept crying as they saw her lifeless body floating down the lake, the current floating into the river, leading out of Erebor. "She saved my life…" Bels shook her head, tears continued to flow down her cheeks, Nuin, even though he was a boy began to cry as he remembered Lee's kindness to him when she made a short wooden dagger for him for his birthday last spring.

It was a long while before Bels and Nuin emerged from their hiding place as they climbed down from the field and stepped into the dirt road, tears still on their faces as they slowly made their way back home in Dale. The sun was already high in the sky, the heat beating down on their head and back but they paid it no heed. Their hearts were heavy with thoughts of ThoraLee.

As they neared the same bend they witnessed Lee being attacked, they saw four strange dwarves on ponies, one of them leading the pony Lee was riding earlier!

Bels also recognized two of the strange dwarves, they were friends of Lee!

"Excuse me," Bels called out bravely, as she waved to them.

Balin looked down at the two young dwarven children, halted his pony, Dwalin and the other two dwarves did likewise and watched.

"May I help you, young one?' Balin asked.

Bels nodded sadly as Nuin pulled at her nervously.

"Are you friend of Lee? ThoraLee?"

Balin smiled and nodded, "Why yes, I certainly am, a fine young lady she is. Hang on, were you the little one ThoraLee saved from the deep water?"

Bels nodded and suddenly she couldn't contain herself anymore and began to bawl hard.

Balin, shocked, looked at Dwalin, dismounted and went to Bels and patted her back gently, trying to comfort her, 'There, there, little one, what is the matter?"

Sniffling hard, Bels blurted out, "They killed Lee! The bullies killed Lee! She tried to save that pony and they killed her!" Bels pointed at Grakarbor.

All four older dwarves gasped aloud!

The three dismounted quickly as they gathered around the two little children, Balin still in shock shook his head, "Please, let's start from the beginning. First thing, do you know whose pony this is?"

"Lee said she borrowed it." Bels said as Nuin nodded, clinging onto her, the four Dwarves were big and intimidating with their hoods and long beards.

Balin nodded, "This is Grakarbor, he belongs to Prince Thorin."

Bels turned to Nuin whose eyes became wide as saucers.

"I met Prince Thorin, he was nice." Bels said sadly.

Dwalin nodded, "Yes he is. Now, what happened and how did Grakarbor ended by the roadside near Dale?

Between bouts of sniffles and interjections from the timid Nuin, Bels began to tell them of Lee's unfortunate confrontation with the Cimbollis and their cohorts.

The horrific expressions on the older dwarves' face were unimaginable.

Finally Balin said gravely, "We must hurry to Erebor and inform Thorin, and King Thrain."

They all nodded.

Balin turned to Bels and Nuin, "Little ones, we are going to tell the King and the Queen what happened to Lee," they nodded. "Do not tell anyone you told us what happened. We will take care of everything. Okay?"

Bels and Nuin nodded, happy that they had told the right people. They waved to them as they left the older dwarves and made their way home, their hearts a little lighter.

As for the four dwarves, their faces were solemn as they mounted their ponies and hurried their way to Erebor, Grakarbor in Balin's hands.

…..

Thrain, Nur, Thorin, and Frerin were in the Receiving Halls when word came of their cousins' arrival.

The four had just come back from the sub terrain chambers. Frerin and Nur were still reeling at staggering amount of gold coins in the chambers.

Thorin, the novelty slightly worn out, was waiting eagerly for ThoraLee's return but was also thrilled to see their cousins.

As they entered the Halls, Thorin at once saw their expression and knew something was not right. Theirs were not the looks of happy reunions. They were of sad news, especially Balin and Dwalin.

"Oin! Gloin! It is good to see you again! It has been too long! Balin, Dwalin, I see you have come back safely as well." Thrain greeted them with handshakes.

Thorin and Frerin rushed to them with hugs as they all began talking at the same time, they were excited to share with them of their new found fortune and the Arkenstone.

Balin Dwalin turned to Thorin as they could not contained themselves and asked him about ThoraLee.

Thorin grinned widely, "Balin, Dwalin, you'd never believe it, Lee and I are to be wedded on Durin's Day!" He clapped his hand on Balin's shoulder hard. "I can't believe it but I am truly the luckiest man alive. She is the most amazing woman, so beautiful so smart. If it wasn't for her, we would not have found the gold or the Arkenstone this soon. I can search all over and I'll never find another, she is the one for me. Oin! Gloin! I can't wait for you to meet her, she is visiting her father in Dale at the moment but I tell you, she is one fireball, the first time we met, she gave me a black eye and a broken n..." Thorin stopped talking as he noticed they were not looking excited for him.

"Is something the matter? What is going on?"

Thrain who was talking to Nur by the throne heard Thorin as well; they stood up and came before the new arrivals.

Balin shook his head as Dwalin spoke, "Thorin, I…we are…um…do you remember the little girl ThoraLee saved from drowning in the lake?" he began.

Thorin frowned, "Yes…Bels is her name, why? Is something the matter? Tell me!"

Dwalin nodded, "We met her on the way here earlier…"

They began to tell them what happened to Lee; that despite the fact that there were five of them and one of her, she manage to fend them off as best she could, that she fought bravely against them before she was kicked and stabbed, as they pushed her into the lake to drown her.

Nur broke down in tears immediately as she fell to the floor, Thrain was on his knees by her side, stunned.

Even though Frerin did not know her well, he was still very affected as he leaned forward, his hands on his knees with his eyes closed, shaking his head; she was going to be her future sister-in-law, his brother's wife. On Durin's Day, they were to be wedded. Thorin had been so happily discussing about his impending nuptials that he did not even mind Frerin ribbing him all afternoon!

Thorin was shaking his head angrily, "NO! NO! Grakarbor is with her!"

Balin shook his head, "We found him near Dale, he is in the stables now."

"She promised me she will be home before dark!" he glared at Balin. "She promises me she will take care of herself and…and…she had her dagger with her! Balin, you've seen her with it! She is good at it!" He looked at Dwalin, "You should have seen her with the daggers, Dwalin. She is so skill. She can throw it so skillfully for a female, so skillfully…" he faded off as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry Thorin," Dwalin said sorrowfully.

"No!" He shook his head as he snapped, "You are mistaken! Bels is mistaken. She must not be talking about the same person. I must find Lee!" Thorin began to walk away from them.

Oin and Gloin caught him and held him.

"Where are you going to find her? The little girl said she is gone into the waters, the current would have swept her away." Oin said in his gruff voice, he was as much affected by this whole situation as well. They cared for their cousin Thorin very much.

Thorin gave Oin a wild look, "Lee needs me, She's out there by herself, I need her…she is hurt and I need to be with her! Did you hear what she said? They stabbed her! Oin! You know medicine, come with me, you can save her! Let me go!" Thorin began to struggle against them to be freed but they held fast, Balin and Dwalin came to help. Thorin, in tears shook his head despondently,

"Why are you stopping me…My Lee, my love is in danger! She is all alone and I left her alone, I should have gone with her! I let her go by herself! Do you hear!" He cried wildly. Then as his tears began to flow, he nodded to himself and said to no one, "She is my wife…my beloved… rúzín. We took the vows before the Blue Moon four days ago. We are man and wife. She is my wife, don't you know. I love her so much…my rúzín…my eternal sun…" Thorin fell to his knees as he sobbed in his hands Thrain and Nur looked up at him and gasped, as did the others.

But they didn't ask him any other questions, they just couldn't. Their hearts were equally broken by the news.

They had come to love ThoraLee as their own daughter.

Thorin's whole body shook hard as he continued, "Lee…you promised you'll be careful. You promised me!" He cried out in anguish! "You cannot leave me alone! I can't live without you…my ThoraLee." He fell to the ground and cried more.

Thrain after a while became angry stood up and looked at Balin and Dwalin, "Do you know who did this to ThoraLee, do you know their names?"

Balin and Dwalin nodded, "Aye sir, the very same ones that hit her the first time a last week, big dull fella, and his big sister, and friends, I'm sure the little ones knows their names."

Thrain nodded angrily, "Very well Balin, Dwalin, if you don't mind take my guards, _invite_ these… people...here. Much as it angers me but I want I want to meet them before they are sentenced to their death."

Balin nodded then paused, "Your Majesty, might I add something else?"

Thrain nodded for him to continue.

"I would like to have the presence of the little girl and the boy who witnessed the whole thing."

Thrain thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Dwalin chimed in, "Well, why not their folks? Let the others witness their crime, and soon the city of Dale will know what they had done to ThoraLee."

Thrain looked at Dwalin and shook his head, "Nay Master Dwalin, soon the city of Dale will soon know what these people had done to the Princess of Erebor!"

Their eyes were round as saucers but they did not argue as they all nodded. They agreed with Thrain; ThoraLee were their Princess, Princess of Erebor.

They have murdered someone they had come to hold dear to them, they will be punished. And the punishment would be severe.

Balin and Dwalin left the Halls, walking with determined steps. A squad of guards formed and marching behind them; they had heard what happened to ThoraLee and were ready to carry out the King's orders.

Down below in the dungeons, words spread to them quickly of what happened to ThoraLee, Atum and Hilliem the two dungeon wardens were incensed; they couldn't wait to get their hands on the criminals.

"Nobody hurts our little Lady, Hilliem, nobody." Atum said as he stripped the cells of all the straws from the beds, preparing the cells for the arrivals of the criminals.

Hilliem nodded angrily, "That's right, they'll be spending time in there cold cells, no straw beds, no blankets and definitely no fireplace. They don't deserve any." He gave a firm nod.

…..

End of Chapter 21


	22. Chapter 23

Coming Of Age – Chapter 22

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Oin and Gloin were able to help moved a very distraught Thorin to his quarters and laid him in his bed. Oin volunteered to stay with him as he made a soothing brew for his young cousin to drink, which helped calm him down as he sat and talked to Oin about ThoraLee.

Frerin stayed the queen who had retired in her quarters to rest. The horrific events had upset her too much to remain in the Receiving Halls.

Thrain also had his reasons for removing Thorin from the Receiving Halls; he did not want his son to be present when the criminals arrived. Thorin might shed blood in the Halls and Thrain would not be able to stop him and in truth, he himself would let him do so. His anger had not simmered down.

Thrain had come to love ThoraLee as his own daughter. Now that he found out his son had secretly wedded her, he realize he was not angry at them, no.

Thrain shook his head angrily; he was incensed, at these fools for killing his new daughter-by-law.

How could they done that to another being?

And ThoraLee was the best person in the world, Thrain realized, with the heart the size of…of…well, ten…no, hundred times the amount of the gold coins they found!

Nay, her heart was priceless. No one was as wonderful as ThoraLee, she could not have been anymore lovelier and he did not get a chance to know her more. These heinous people had robbed him of a daughter.

How was he to tell her father? Thrain closed his eyes for a moment as he shook his head sadly; to lose a child before the parent left the world …dear Mahal! He shook his head, Thrain could not fathom the lose or the pain.

Thrain knew he would have to make the somber journey to Dale, when he had dealt with them, and informed ThoraLee's sire of the unfortunate news.

Thrain felt as if he had aged tenfold suddenly.

But he couldn't get the thoughts out of his mind! They killed his daughter-in-law just because she tried to protect an animal! Now, who were the animals? They were, all of them! Thrain was disgusted to know that they had lived in his kingdom!

_Bah! They will live no more, after he was through with them!_

…

It was near dark when Balin and Dwalin as well as the guards marched in with the criminals. The little girl Bels and the young lad Nuin as witnesses, as well as Bels' mother and Nain's parents were walking behind them. It was quite a procession coming through the Receiving Halls!

Bels and Nuin were holding onto Balin and Dwalin for dear life as they had never been inside the palace, much less in front of the King! Balin had assured them that nothing bad would happen to them; as well they had assured their parents.

They even let them ride on their ponies with them!

The Cimbollis and company, once identified by Bels and Nuin were rounded up, and brought before King Thrain escorted by the guards; they were not told of their crimes as yet.

"Have a care, here!" Curian, the elder Cimbolli, tried to shove at the guard. "You'll ruin my new coat." He brushed at his coat with his hand as he glared at the guard as he pulled a kerchief and wiped his perspiration from his brows. "Any chance of a drink of wine here, my good man?"

"Silence!" Thrain exclaimed out loud.

It was then that Curian saw King Thrain sitting on the throne starring sternly at him and the unruly group.

He tried to bow low but couldn't, given his extremely wide girth, instead he looked like a dressed balloon that made him looked like a pig in clothes. The jowls under his neck spread several folds out as his little eyes made him looked even more piggish. "Your Majesty, forgive me, I had no idea you're here! I...I…it is my pleasure to meet with you and, may I present my illustrious son and my beautiful daughter who is very single and of marriageable age? Er, perhaps we can discuss er…some sort of business?"

"You are called Cimbolli, is it not?" Thrain asked.

Curian nodded enthusiastically.

"Your son, bring him forward."

Curian turned around and seeing his big son, quickly ushered him forward, Curian thought he was about to strike a rich deal frowned at his son, wishing that he had cleaned up before he came to the palace, that strange hoofmark on his forehead and those bruises simply did not look presentable in front of the King but what was one to do?

"Your Majesty, my son Crudd." He bowed his funny attempt again. Then he realized his son was not bowing so he smacked him hard and exclaimed in loud whispered tones, "Bow your head to the King, Crudd!"

Crudd who was still hurting from his accident, scowled as he bowed slightly.

Thrain frowned at the slight but he was in no mood to argue with a fat lump of a young doughy dwarf, said in an angry tone, "This morning did you try to steal a pony?"

Crudd looked up, startled began to sputtered, "But…I…its Shia! She's the one! She wanted the pony!"

A squat female dwarf with pock marks on her face came waddling from the sad group in the middle and began yelling at Crudd, "You gave it to me anyways!"

"Silence!" Thrain exclaimed. "Who are you?" He pointed at her.

Shia cowered behind her father who said, "This is my precious daughter Shia, your Majesty."

"Is he the King, father?" Shia asked loudly. "Can I see Prince Thorin? I'm going to marry him!" She said ignorantly.

Dwalin and Balin almost laughed out loud if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation of the crime.

Curian's face was red, "Well, yes precious…we'll get to that later...what pony, your Majesty?"

Thrain, "This morning, your son and daughter accosted a young lady, ThoraLee." He heard the group gasped loudly as they all began to paled and looked nervously about them. "Your son forcefully took the pony from her and then…"

"I didn't! He...he…is lying!" Crudd pointed at the King.

Balin and Dwalin as well as the guards gasped out loud!

"Silence! Do not interrupt me, young man. Guards, if he does it again, gag him."

"Yes, your Majesty!" The guards snapped their answer and smiled at Crudd ready to obey Thrain happily.

"Now, as I was saying, you, young man forcefully took the pony from ThoraLee and pushed her to the ground."

Then Thrain asked for the little ones before him. Bels and Nuin, quaking in their boots, slowly walked towards the front, they made sure they stood a good distance from Crudd and Shia.

Balin and Dwalin stepped from where they were standing and stood by the little ones, offering protection and assurances to them. Bels grabbed Balin's hand and held on tight while Nuin did the same to Dwalin. The two older dwarves taller than their heights as they glare at Crudd and Shia, daring them to harm the young ones.

"Well, now little ones tell me, and don't be afraid of me or them. Did you see the whole thing, what they did to ThoraLee?"

Bels and Nuin nodded, confidently.

Thrain nodded, "Can you tell me their names?"

Bels nodded, as did Nuin again as they began to name them, beginning with Crudd and Shia, who exclaimed and sputtered and started to scream at the children, threatening them but Thrain called for silence again as the guards pointed their swords at them, they were silent instantly when they felt the pinprick of the tip of the swords on their throats.

Curian tried to speak, "Your Majesty, you cannot possibly believe these brats! They are always telling lies! My son, he's a good boy, he does not steal! Or hit anyone!"

Thrain held his hand up, indicating for him to stop, "What do you have to say about the hoof print on his fore head, sir?"

"I…I…I guess, he …he…was playing…" he said lamely.

Thrain glanced back down at Bels and nodded gently at her, "If you'll continue, little one."

Bels nodded and repeated her horrific tale once more, as she described the parts where Lee was being punched and kicked, she saw her mother, and Nuin's parents in tears. A few of the guards were also teary as well. And when Bels got to the point when Shia stabbed Lee in her back, Nuin's mother fainted. Shoshin knelt by and fanned her as she came around. Bels was in tears again as Balin gave her an encouraging squeeze in her hand.

"…Shia took Lee's ring and then she used the oak branch and pushed Lee into the deep water. Lee floated away…They killed Lee!" She pointed at them!

Shoshin rushed forward to Bels and hugged her little girl as she cried hard into her mother's neck.

Shoshin turned to the King and said in anger, "Your Majesty, Lee saved my little Bels. She drowned in the deep water and she saved and gave her the breath of life. I don't know how she did it, or how she knew to do it but I am eternally grateful for it. Please show the justice accordingly. Lee did not deserve this treatment or this senseless death. She is a wonderful person. She thought of everyone in Dale!"

Shy little Nuin stepped before Thrain, tears pooling in his large brown eyes, "Please sir King sir. Lee is the nicest person in the whole of Dale. I wanted to be soldier in your army when I grow up, sir. And I wanted a sword but I didn't have any. And Lee made this sword for me on my birthday. Please, if she is all right. If she is alive, I promise you that when I grow up, I …pr..pledge myself to you." Nuin laid a small wooden sword before him as he knelt in front of Thrain, his head bowed, tears flowing down his cheeks as his shoulders heaved up and down continuously.

Thrain, touched by the little boy's sincerity, his eyes began to tear nodded, "Thank you, little one." He stepped down from the throne, unsheathed his own sword and touched Nuin's right shoulder then his left and then Thrain pronounced him the King's youngest soldier. Thrain nodded to his parents and said, "You have a fine son, a very brave soldier." He turned back to his throne and sat down. Nuin's parents gathered the little boy into their arms as they brought him to the corner.

Thrain then glared at Curian and said, "For the crime your son and daughter had committed, I shall sentence you to death." All three wailed loudly.

Thrain held his hand, "Your son and daughter had murdered a Princess…"

"Princess!" Shia protested her crying stopping suddenly as she looked at the King. "I didn't kill a Princess, ThoraLee is not a Princess. She is the daughter of Erimm, that dirt poor metal maker! Nothing special, not worth buying their shoddy metal, isn't it, Father?"

"Silence, you fool!"Thrain glared at her. "My son Prince Thorin is wedded to ThoraLee four days past. She is my daughter-by-law, therefore she is a Princess."

Shia fell to the ground on her rump and began to cry, "But father! You promise that I will marry Prince Thorin! That I will be the Princess not that bones and skin wench! I wanna be a Princess!" She began to pound her fists. "I wanna be…"

Thrain spotted Lee's ring on Shia's finger;

"Guards, retrieve the ring, and please take them, all of them to the dungeons. The wardens are waiting for them."

"At once, Your Majesty!" One of the guards approached Shia and removed the ring and brought it to the King who held it with a heavy heart.

"Little Nuin," Thrain said, "As my new soldier, it seems you'll a new home to live in, I think you shall have the house these people lived in. They no longer need one." Curian tried to protest but the guards were dragging him and the others towards the dungeons, a whole lot of protesting noise accompanied them.

As soon as they were gone, it seemed quiet again.

Thrain looked at Bels and her mother, "Madam, I thank you for having such a brave young girl. Without whom we would not have known what truly happened to ThoraLee."

"Is it true she is a Princess, Your Majesty?" Bels asked?

Thrain smiled sadly, "Yes little one. She …was."

"She is a beautiful Princess."

Thrain nodded, "Aye."

"Guards, will you escort these good people home? And make sure little Bels and her mother have a new and larger house to live in. I believe one of those girls lived in a good house, it would make a nice new home for our new friend." Thrain smiled at her.

Bels returned his smile with a grin and a happy nod. Her mother thanked Thrain gratefully, looked forward to a bigger home for her girl and herself.

The two families took their leave from the King and left the Halls, the little ones happily discussing about having their own bedrooms, skipped out of the Halls. The adults had much to talk about; by the morn news of what the Cimbollis had done to Lee would have spread all over Dale. The guards watched the little ones indulgently as they escorted them out to the courtyard where a wagon and ponies awaited to take them back to Dale.

Balin and Dwalin were about to leave for Thorin's quarters to inform him of what had happened when a guard came rushing into the Hall and stood in front of the King.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" he was panting, catching his breath. "There be elves out in the gardens! Elves, your Majesty! From the woods beyond! And…and…they found her!"

"Who?"Thrain asked as he glanced at Balin and Dwalin, "Who?"

The guard was pointing eagerly, "The Elves found ThoraLee!"

.

End of Chapter 22


	23. Chapter 24

Coming Of Age – Chapter 23

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The sun was almost setting when King Thrain, Balin and Dwalin rushed out of the Halls to the gardens, they stopped short of the steps leading down beyond the walls of the palace.

In the center where the flowers were still blooming, the scent lightly giving off its perfumed fragrance, stood ten wood elves, they were taller than the dwarves and dressed in brown and green to blend with the woods. Their eyes were green-brown in color and bright in the twilight.

They were holding a make-shift litter of large green leaves entwined with vines and ThoraLee was lying on her side in it. She was still clutching the broken oak limb in her arm, unconscious with the dagger still embedded in her shoulder.

An elf, presumably the leader stood in front of the litter spoke, "You are Thrain, King of Erebor and the city of Deol."

King Thrain nodded. "Aye."

"I am Eluin of the Anduin woods. We found ThoraLee in the river this eve, she was wounded. Why?" He tilted his head to a side in wonderment.

Thrain was not expecting this line of question as he glared at the elf, "What do you mean?"

"ThoraLee is elf-friend, anyone who harms one, will have to answer to all of us." The other elves standing behind him nodded.

It was then that Thrain noticed they had their thin swords drawn.

His own guards were drawing their swords partially but were not sure if they should do it all the way; they all thought they were still friends with the elves.

Eluin pointed at the dagger in her shoulder, "This dagger is dwarven-made, our friend was attacked by a dwarf?"

Thrain shook his head, "Yes, she was but I have dealt with them. They are in the dungeons as we speak."

Eluin nodded. "ThoraLee did not want our healers' assistances; she mentioned she must be home to her…Khazad-zukin ere dark. It was a promise she had made and she needed to make it and we are honoring it. She must be attended to immediately, this wound is deep. If we pull the dagger out, much of her life blood will flow out, she will lose a lot. Do you have a skilled healer? We have one, Thelen, is willing to stay and tend to her till she is well." Eluin turned to look at a female elf as she stepped out of the side of the litter and nodded, holding a cloth bag on her shoulder.

Thrain shook his head, "It is most kind of you to offer, Eluin, but we have a healer ourselves, he is my cousin, Oin, son of Groin. And he is most trusted too. I cannot thank you enough for bringing her home. We have been worried when she was gone. We thought she was lost when we heard that she was…" Thrain looked down his eyes closed.

"LEE!" They all turned at Thorin's voice and saw him rushing to them. His looks were wild.

"LEE! Is it true? Did the elves find my Lee?" He skidded to a stop before the litter and knelt before her.

"Is she..?" Thorin looked at Eluin. He gently touched her cheek, it was cold.

"She is alive…barely but she is strong. It was fortunate that we saw her when we came to collect berries by the river, or she certainly would have been lost beyond the river that flow out to the great sea." Eluin nodded at Thorin. "Are you her…Khazad-zukin?"

Thorin nodded, "Aye, I am"

"She kept asking for you, she would not let our healers treat her. She said she promised you that she would be …home to her Khazad-zukin. Most strange, she named you, heart of a Dwarf warrior. She knew you were the warrior." Eluin reached out and touched Thorin's forehead with his forefinger. "You have the sign. She saw the sign as well and the heart in you. Truly you are Khazad-zukin."

Then Eluin straightened and looked at Thrain and said, "Please take care of our Elf-friend, she is a special youngling. She and her twin, with their strange eyes were blessed by Eru Ilúvatar when they were born. The dwarf Erimm came to us and we helped raised them when they were younglings, we came to love them like our own. The twins were bright with their learnings; quick and swift as well as metal crafting. Erimm could not be more proud of them, as were we. But soon, it was time for them to leave the woods. They are dwarven after all and Erimm return to Deol with them. We have not seen her until now. We love her much, and it pained us that she denied our healers. Take care of our beloved elf-friend. " With that Thorin nodded and Eluin turned to join his people and walked out of the gardens and not a minute later they were gone, blending into the trees that were next to the palace.

"How did they do that?" One of the guards wondered out loud. "They just disappeared!"

Thorin removed the oak limb from her grasp then gently gathered her in his arms, so as he was careful to not jostle the dagger. He quickly ran into the palace and headed for his quarters, the other dwarves followed him.

Thrain did not follow his son. He was not needed anymore as he knew Oin was with them. He was weary and he knew Nur would be waiting anxiously for the latest news, he was very happy ThoraLee was back home alive. Then he realized he was still holding...

Thrain stop Dwalin for the moment as he handed him something… it was Lee's ring. Thrain knew Thorin would want to put her ring back in her finger as soon as possible. Dwalin looked at the ring and smiled happily, glad to be able to do something good for the couple.

…..

Thorin laid her gently on her stomach on his bed. Balin and Dwalin decided to wait for them in Thorin's living room quarters; Dwalin was still holding Lee's ring.

Oin immediately asked his brother Gloin to stoke the fire in the fireplace; he noticed her lips were turning a bluish tinge and her skin was cold. Oin realized her clothing was still damp.

"Thorin, she needs to be out of these clothes, I'm going to find blankets, plenty of blankets, if she doesn't catch a death of cold it will be a miracle…" And he was gone from the room.

Thorin nodded and saw that he didn't want to move her much so he bent down and retrieved his dagger he kept in his boot and sliced her shirt apart, being careful around the dagger wound and cried out loud; "Great Aulë! What the…!" Thorin almost shouted out loud. "Oh my poor Lee…my ThoraLee! What had they done to you?" he blinked his eyes as he removed her shirt from her back slowly with shaking hands.

But it was too much, Thorin dropped the dagger as he covered his face and cried, it clattered on the floor, drawing Gloin's attention who turned around and saw Lee's back and fell to his knees, "In the name of Mahal! This is too much!" Gloin cried out as he fell to his knees and wept.

Oin came running in with a handful of linens piled so high that it covered his face.

"Well, this will do for now! A maid will be here shortly with more linen and hot water and…Oh dear me!" Oin dropped the linens immediately as he ran before the bed, in front of Lee and shook his head.

"My goodness! My …" his mouth opened and closed several times but nothing came out as he was lost for words; tears seeped out of his eyes as he ran out again yelling for his hot water.

Her entire back was dark purple and red and swollen, the skin of her right shoulder blade was torn off and blood had dried off but it was a bloodied mess. Oin and Gloin remembered what little Bels had told them; Crudd, who weighed more than anyone of them, had punched her back for many minutes before he kicked her hard.

Taking a ragged breath, Oin turned back and walked to Thorin, touched his shoulders and said, "Come now cousin, you know we dwarves are hardy folks. She is a fighter. Look at it, she took on five big ones all by herself! Five! I may not know her at all but I am proud of her. She is not my kin and I am proud she is now one of us. Indeed, she is now my kin. I swear upon the great Aulë that I will protect her till my dying breath."

Gloin nodded as he wiped his tears from his eyes and stood up, "Oin is right, Thorin. She is one of us. And I too will protect her till my dying breath. Stay strong cousin. She needs your strength now. Come, let's get her better and you can introduce her to us properly."

Thorin nodded as he clutched Gloin's arm gratefully.

He stood up and turning back to her, began to remove her boots and her breeches with his dagger. Gloin handed him a blanket to cover her body, Thorin thanked him.

As soon as a maid came with a pan of hot water, Oin began to make his medicine from a bag he had brought with him. He also prepared a needle and a special thread.

"She will be in much pain when I pull the knife out, and bleed much. I will work as quickly as I can. I need you to hold her as still as possible."

Thorin and Gloin nodded.

Oin dug into his bag and took out a jug and took a deep drink than handed it to Gloin who did likewise and handed it to Thorin but he shook his head.

Oin set the jug down and took a deep breath and let it out and glanced at them, "Ready?"

Gloin and Thorin holding Lee's shoulders gently but firmly and nodded.

Oin held the handle of the dagger and began to pull outwards slowly. Lee began to jerk in pain, moaning at first but her moaning changed to screams as Oin continued.

"Lee, be brave. It's me, I'm right here with you, hang in there, it'll be out soon. I love you Lee!" Thorin kept talking to her as she screamed and tried to jerk from them but they held her down.

The guards and servants outside the quarters stared at each other nervously, each wondering about Lee, fearing the worse. They all knew she had been found by the wood elves, their happiness was short lived when they learned she was heavily wounded. Down in the dungeons, the prisoners were given water and one loaf of bread to be shared among six of them.

As soon as Oin pulled the dagger out completely, blood began to ooze out fast, Oin had a hard time trying to sew the wound shut. Lee's screaming didn't help either. It pained them all to hear her in so much pain. Thorin kept talking to her, hoping his voice penetrated through the pain.

"Hurry up Oin, how much more pain can you put her through?" Thorin glared at his cousin.

Oin did not look up as he answered as calmly as he could, "I am trying my best, Thorin. If I don't do it right the first time, she will bleed to death. Worry not cousin, she will be all right soon."

Thorin arched a look at him but he didn't argue as the linen began to fill with blood.

Ten minutes later, Oin cut the thread and nodded, "There, it is done. Now, I must make a poultice for her back. I need more linen."

Gloin nodded, "I'll get you more." He gathered the soiled ones and left.

Oin went to the pan of water which had cooled but he washed his hands in it.

Drying them, he said, "We will have to move her to another bed, Thorin. This bed is completely ruined."

Thorin saw her blood had spilled all around his bed. He nodded, "I'll move her to her bed. We can sleep in there till they replaced my bed."

Oin did not commented on his remarks. He began pulling bottles from his bag and began mixing for a poultice, a large amount.

When Gloin came back with more linen, Dwalin and Balin joined him.

Dwalin came over to Thorin and gave him Lee's ring. Thorin thanked him gratefully.

"Lee will be thrilled to see it again." He tucked it in his trousers pocket for safe keeping.

It was then Dwalin and Balin saw the horrific bruises on her back.

Both brothers paled at the sight of it as they cussed silently at Crudd who had inflicted them on her.

Oin grunted in agreement angrily as he said quietly, "That person ought to be flogged for what he had done to her! This is beyond anything I have seen in my life!"

As Oin came to her to spread the poultice on her back, Lee struggled again and cried in pain as the sting hit the raw wound. Thorin rushed to her immediately. But Lee reared up and in her delirium, she held the blanket up in front of her, found Thorin's dagger by the bed, picked it up and saw Oin standing in front of her, smacked the bowl away from his hand and before he realize what was happening, Lee gave his wrist a quick twist and turned it around to his back as she held the dagger to his neck from behind.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Where are my clothes?" She exclaimed.

Thorin came into her view and held his hand out, "Lee, it's me Thorin, Khazad-zukin. You're in my room. See...remember that window where we made our vows?" He pointed the tall window. Lee hesitated then shook her head, "I'm not sure…who are they…why are they hurting me?" she cried in anger.

"No, you remember Balin and Dwalin, and these are my other cousins, Gloin…Oin, he is a healer. Lee, do you remember what happened this morn? You were on your way to Dale to see your father but you met those…Crudd, and Shia, and their friends. They tried to take Grakarbor..."

"Grakarbor!" Lee nodded. "Is he all right? They tried to take him, and...and I…couldn't protect him..."

Thorin nodded, "It's okay my dear, Grakarbor is fine, he is in the stables…sleeping no doubt, thanks to you. Do you remember what happened then? Crudd attacked you… and well, you fought back, very bravely my dear I'm so proud of you." The other dwarves were nodding in agreement. Oin dared not move as he felt the sharp weapon against his neck. His hand was held firm behind him; he marveled at her strength, despite her injuries.

Lee frowned, "They hit me…I...I...found the branch…the oak branch, it helped, I hit them but she…Shia …I...I...don't remember…" Lee faltered.

Thorin shook his head," It doesn't matter my love. We have them, we took care of them. They will not bother you or anyone anymore."

Lee frowned and shook her head, "No, they will be back and…and they will come and get me. I have to take care of them now. Let me go!" She tightened her grip on Oin.

"No! Lee! Listen rúzín, it's me! You're safe at home, here with me. They are in the dungeons. They won't bother anyone, all of them. Trust me, rúzín, please. Remember our vows? I will take care of you?"

"Thorin? Khazad-zukin?" She rasped as she winced, her head lowering with pain.

He nodded, "Yes my love, it's me."

Lee nodded. Suddenly, her adrenaline ebbed as the dagger clattered to the floor as she began to fall. Thorin rushed to catch her and picked her up, and held her close and fell unconscious.

Oin was rubbing his neck, "Well, I see what you meant, Thorin. She is a fireball! My goodness!"

Gloin nodded, "If I were not wedded myself, and if she is not, I would have wed her at once. She is a diamond! Thorin, you had better not lose that young lady of yours!"

Thorin nodded at them, "I know, she made a claim on me before I had a chance to do so."

Oin and Gloin exchanged glances and grinned, "Hmm…" Oin said. "Now, that is a story we would like to hear over a mug of beer, my young cousin."

Balin and Dwalin chimed in as well, "Wait a minute, we have not heard this story either."

Thorin gave them an arched look as he held her close to him. "Well not at the moment, first of all, I would like to see her well before I'm in the mood of telling stories."

Oin nodded as he bent to pick up the wooden bowl Lee had knocked out of his hand, thankful the thick poultice had not spilled. "Most definitely! Now, if you'll take her to a clean bed, I'll put this on her back and let her rest."

Thorin indicated the connecting door, "Balin, if you'll open this door."

Balin nodded and saw that it connected to another bedroom and realize it was ThoraLee's bedroom. He and Dwalin set about making a fire in the fireplace. Thorin came through and laid her on her bed, again on her stomach. Oin, immediately applied the poultice on her entire bruised back and with the strips of linen, he wrapped her in it.

"There. That's all I can do for now. I'll be back to change the linen and apply more poultice on her in the morn. Thorin, she lost much blood, she needs to drink through the night…will you be with her?"

Thorin nodded, "Aye cousin, I'll be here with her tonight...she is my wife, I…"

"Thorin, you don't have to explain, we all know and we understand. She is in excellent hands, then." Oin nodded.

The four dwarves bade Thorin a good night and left him with her and left the chambers.

When he was finally alone with her, Thorin saw that his shirt was soiled with her blood and he didn't want to leave her alone to fetch a fresh shirt, so he took off the soiled shirt and climbed into her bed and lay with her. Pulling the covers over the both of them, he gathered her gently to him and watched her as she slept.

_Thank Aulë for keeping her safe and alive! I thought I had lost her today forever. She is my life and my world. She will never be apart from me again. No one will hurt my rúzín again. Dear Aulë, please help me protect her forever. You know I cannot live without her…_

Thorin drifted away to sleep as he held her in his arms, a contented smile on his face.

…

End of Chapter 23


	24. Chapter 25

**Author's note: Dear readers, I just want to thank everyone who had been following this story! And to all who had put this on alert, favourite, and follow, I really do appreciate you all doing that! It gives me the encouragement to continue on. If you have any comments on this story, please don't hesitate to fire back! Any questions/comments/reviews would be appreciated and addressed.**

**Again thank you everybody!**

**J.**

Coming Of Age – Chapter 24

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ThoraLee woke up with a fiery burning sensation in her back. She thought someone had set it on fire! She wanted to roll on her back to put it out but she couldn't move.

Why couldn't she move? What happened anyways? She tried to recall how it happened…did her house catch fire? The forge in the back workshop, did it catch fire? Everything was so hazy!

She grunted in frustration as she tried to wreck her brains to remember what caused her back such intense pain.

Images began to flash before her; Thorin, Grakarbor, Crudd, Shia, Shia's friends, the dagger, the oak limb, the river, the wood elves, Eluin, Thorin, dwarves…Thorin…

She remembered.

"Thorin…" She rasped dryly.

"I'm here my love," Lee heard his voice quite close to her. Then she felt a warm touch on her cheek and she smiled. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"My back…burns much," she admitted.

"I'll have Oin apply more poultices on it," Thorin said. She heard cloth rustling behind her.

What seemed like ages to her when Thorin came back with a dwarf in tow, a wooden bowl in his hands.

He peeked to look at her and said to Thorin, "Er, she does not have the dagger in her hands, does she?"

Thorin turned to him and shook his head, "No, you are safe to approach, cousin."

Oin gave him an arched look as he walked to the bed.

Lee was watching him, "Hello," she said softly. "I presumed I have you to thank for saving my life. You are Thorin's cousin Oin."

Oin smiled and nodded, "At your service, my dear. Of course you don't recall last eve when you introduce the dagger to my throat but that's in the past, princess."

Lee closed her eyes as her cheeks reddened, "I do apologize, I do not recall last eve's events, the last I remembered was meeting Eluin the wood elf and his people."

Oin nodded as he proceeded to apply the stinging poultices on her, Lee gritted her teeth as she held onto Thorin's hands.

Soon it was over and Oin covered the wounds with clean linens.

"Rest princess, your wounds will heal in a few days," Oin nodded as he placed the bowl down.

Lee frowned, "Why do you keep calling me a princess? I am but a daughter of a metal smither, Master Oin."

Oin looked behind her, where Thorin was sitting by her. She couldn't see his expression as she was lying on her stomach.

"She doesn't know?" Oin asked Thorin.

"No." She heard his reply.

"What? Doesn't I know about? Thorin, what is going on?" Lee tried to turn but winced in pain as she lay back down.

"It's nothing, Lee just lie still dear." Thorin said quietly as he squeezed her hand.

A knock on the door interrupted them as Oin opened the door; it was Frerin and Queen Nur.

"I hope you did not mind visitors," Nur smiled as she approached the bed as Oin offered her a chair. Frerin chose to stand with him.

"Your Majesty, forgive my state of undress and informal greetings." Lee blushed but she was happy to see her.

Nur waved her hands about, "Think nothing of it, ThoraLee, I should have waited until you are well enough to receive visitors but I am so worried about you. Do forgive me."

Lee shook her head slightly, "Not at all, your Majesty. I am very happy to see you. How are you? And Dis? I missed her."

Nur smiled wider, "She is well and growing by the minute. But most importantly, how are you my dear? You are in good hands, Oin is the best healer."

"Yes, I am most grateful he was here when it…happened." Lee said sadly.

Nur's smile faltered as well, "Y...yes…it was such an awful thing…that happened to you."

"Mother…" Thorin warned her.

Nur glance at her son, "I am sorry, my son. I know I should not bring it up but I...I...can't help it."

"It's all right, your Majesty. The good thing is I'm alive and well." Lee smiled weakly.

Nur nodded and said, "My dear, why don't you stop addressing me so formally, after all, you and Thorin are wedded so…"

"WHAT?" Lee reared her head but fell back down in severe pain.

"Mother!" Thorin exclaimed as he tried to sooth Lee.

"Oh great, this is going to be fun!" Frerin grinned.

Oin turned to him, "Fun? I don't see where the fun in this?"

Frerin chuckled, "Just watch," as he pointed at the scene before them.

"Thorin, you told your mother we are wedded? Who else?" Lee tried to glare at him as she struggled through her pain and her bindings. Oin rushed to her and held her down.

"Really, you must not move about, you'll tear the stitches!"Oin glared at Thorin, "Will you help hold her down?"

"Forget the stitches! The only thing I'm tearing is…is his head! It is supposed to be OUR secret! Thorin!"

Thorin glared at her as he did what Oin asked him.

"Let me up!" Lee tried to shrug them off her as she stood up on the bed, gathering the blankets around her glaring angrily at Thorin as he and Oin tried to grab at her.

Nur was looking on worriedly, "Lee, do listen to Oin, er your coverings are slipping…oh my! Frerin turn around!" Frerin did as his mother bidden him as he continued to laugh.

"Get off… me…"Lee continue to struggle angrily, trying to push against both of them.

Finally, in desperation and to keep her safe, Thorin jumped on the bed and tackled Lee, wrapped both arms around her and held her close to him, keeping her within him as he brought them to their knees, "Lee! Listen to me! It slipped! I thought they killed you! And I was upset…I didn't know what I was saying…you were all I have, Lee and I…I…blurt it out!"

Lee was shaking her head as her strength gave out and she lay limply in his arms, "No one was supposed to know! Do you know what this means? Everyone…wait...Does everyone knows?" She turned to Thorin and

"I know! I'm sorry Lee!" He bent his head to lean it against her body. "I was broken hearted…I thought I had lost you. I didn't know what I …how I was going to go on without you. And it came out."

Nur said quietly, "Lee, it's all right. We are not upset. In fact, Thrain and I are delighted. A little unconventional but delighted. Given the way you two went about your...er...relationship, Thrain and I were not surprise you did it behind us."

"You're not?" Thorin and Lee asked together.

Nur shook her head as she laughed, "Not at all. We can tell we would not be able to keep you apart for long. I remember when your father and I were courting when we were young and still unwed, we couldn't keep our hands off…"

"Mother!" Thorin exclaimed. "Please?"

Oin was chuckling.

Nur blushed, "Well, anyways, as I was saying Lee I think I would be most pleased if you would start calling me a little more informally?"

Lee smiled and nodded, "Yes...mother."

She clapped her hands happily. "Oh yes! How wonderful!"

"Um mother, may I turn around now?" Frerin said by the door.

Nur turned to look at her youngest son, "Oh yes, by all means."

Frerin turned to look at all of them and said, "Well, this is thirsty work and if you ask me, I think I am in need of a drink. So, you'll excuse me?" He shook his head and left the room.

Nur nodded, "Well, that is my cue as well, I do have to see about my other…daughter." She looked at Lee as she smiled and she moved over to the bed and kissed Lee's forehead softly, "Rest well my daughter," before she left the room, smiling widely.

Oin mopped his forehead with his kerchief, "It appears I too am in need of a drink. I shall return later to apply more poultices on your back… princess." With a nod, he left in a hurry, shutting the door after him.

"Thorin?" Lee said a moment later.

"Yes my dear?"

"I think it's safe to let me go," she said, Thorin could hear her smile.

"Oh yes…" He did not realize he was still holding on tightly to her, her back was beginning to hurt her again.

Laying her back gently down on the bed, he poured her a cool drink which she drank gratefully and thirstily,

As she rested, watching him sitting close beside her, their hands entwined together, Lee posed a question to Thorin, "Exactly who knew about our…secret?"

Thorin was silent for a while, Lee thought he had not heard her but he arched a look at her and said, "Don't be mad, my love but I think by now, everyone from Erebor to Dale."

Lee groaned.

He patted her hand, "I am sorry rúzín it was not my intention. I wanted you to myself as well until the time of Durin's Day. But I truly thought I had lost you forever…" He closed his eyes as he recalled that anguished day.

Lee squeezed his hand, "Tis quite all right, my Khazad-zukin," She said softly to him. "I too wanted to be selfish and have you all to myself. I did not want to share you with anyone. I thought I would never see you again as I floated away in the river…" Thorin covered her mouth as he shook his head.

"Let's forget about that day. I don't want to think about it anymore." He said with a ragged voice.

Lee smile behind his hand.

He looked at her as he replaced his hand with his lips and soon found her unresponsive; she had fallen asleep, with a smile remaining on her face.

Thorin smiled as he kissed her gently again, she moaned softly but didn't stirred. "Sleep well, my sweet and beautiful wife."

He stood up and left the chambers after he made sure a maid was sitting with her in case she stirred.

….

As he made his way to his living quarters, in need of a drink, he saw his cousins, all four of them waiting for him, as well as his brother Frerin.

"Ah, the newly wedded Prince! Come, come, we are now celebrating your bliss with your finest keg of ale! Come cousin, here's a mug in your honor!" Gloin handed him a mug cheerfully, the brim was overflowing with froth.

"Indeed, cousin!" Balin chuckle as he drank his mug of beer. "Last I left the poor sod, he was busily in the midst of a battle of the wits with the pretty lass, pretty and fiery and now Dwalin and I returned not but a few days' time, he had up and be wedded to her! He who had sworn he would not be tied to a wife for the longest time! This is a tale I want to hear how it came to being. Sit Thorin. Let us hear this tale about this claim... how is it that she beat you to it? And how did you put up to it?" Balin eyed him closely as the others laughed at him rauciously.

They all laughed as he reddened to the point even his ears were feeling hot.

Gloin and Oin nod as they said together, "Nay, We want to hear it ere from the beginning, how you met the fair and fiery ThoraLee and what led to this claim of YOUR fair hand, cousin!" Of course, more laughter as they slapped his back hard as Thorin's face was turned beet red.

Thorin shook his head as he drank more from his mug; he felt that this evening was going to be a long, long evening as he sat back and listened to Balin, Dwalin and his brother told the tales of how he and Lee met at her Coming of Age party, and how he wound up with a black eye and a broken nose from her! And it went down from there, with the deal his father made with her.

The entire evening was interrupted with lots of laughter and back slapping and plenty of beer drinking.

Balin was describing the incident at workshop in Dale when they were throwing daggers at each other. Oin and Gloin couldn't help wondering what kind of daggers they were using. Thorin, wearing the dagger from the night before, removed it from his boot and showed it to the two.

"Lee made them a while back, she gave this to me. It had a twin and they are deadly sharp."

Oin and Gloin examined the craftsmanship and nodded.

"Indeed, it is a fine piece of work. So fine, if pierced her skin and muscle cleanly in her shoulder." Oin nodded. "I must say, I will have her make me a few of these. She is quite a talent. The wood elves and her sire taught her the craft?"

Thorin nodded. "Her twin brother is just as talented as her. Balin and Dwalin can tell you that."

Balin nodded. "Indeed, he is. JoraLee is as talented as they come. That's right, I had forgotten! With all that had happened, Dwalin why did you not remind me?"

Dwalin frowned at his brother, "What are you talking about?"

"That we met with Master Odin! And the old master himself was willing, too willing to take in that young lad as his apprentice!"

"Ah yes! You're right, all this excitement, I had plump forgotten! Dear me, we were on the way to the bottom of Misty Mountains but Master Odin met us near Erebor! Imagine our surprise! We didn't expect the great dwarf himself. He said he was here for supplies and we showed him young Jor's work and he was thrilled, well more than thrilled, so he said he would ride back home with the lad. So that saved us the trip to under Misty Mountains."

Thorin nodded, "That explains why you two made it back so soon." Then he turned to his other cousins.

Gloin explained, "Oin wanted to come to Erebor when cousin Nur was with child. He didn't know how far along she was and figured she required assistance with the delivery. As you can see, we were too late. Thanks to my brother." He glared at Oin.

"Well, look here, Gloin. I had to collect some herbs, that root could have been useful for delivery." Oin tried to defend himself.

"That root cause us to be stuck in the mud for the whole day!" Gloin said angrily.

Oin shrugged his shoulders, "We came through all right, though."

Gloin muttered in his breath as he drained his mug and stood up for a refill.

"Anyways, your wife is certainly as smart as well as pretty, you're fortunate Thorin, I'd wed her right away, if you hadn't." Oin nodded his head.

"Aye I would too if I weren't wedded myself." Gloin agreed.

"So, is Thrain really serious with his death sentence ruling?" Oin asked.

Frerin shook his head, then wished he didn't as he was deep in his cups, he had drank one too many, "Since Lee did not die, they could not be charged with murder but they are charged with … the word…trying to kill her…attempt, yeah, attempted murder. So, they are to be sent to the mines to work for the rest of their lives."

The dwarves nodded, "Well that is just as bad as being sentenced to death. They might not make it. They deserve it. All of them."

"I wish I could get my hands on that fat lump of a boy, that Crudd, for what he had done to Lee." Thorin said angrily as he stared into his mug.

Dwalin nodded, "Be that as it may, the work in the mines will be more than punishment for him. Trust me, he will get his due."

They all nodded in agreement, and together, drank to that.

Thorin nodded to them, "Well I have more news to you then."

The four dwarves looked at him expectantly as Frerin had begun to snore in the corner quietly.

"Lee found Durin's gold and the Arkenstone." Thorin said quietly as he took another drink.

"You don't say?" Balin said in a stunned voice.

"I'll be an orc's uncle!" Dwalin's jaw dropped as he said.

"Great Mahal!" Oin and Gloin blurted out together.

Thorin grinned at them, "The Arkenstone had been in the palace, in my mother's room all this time and we did not know. It was in a secret compartment."

"Your mother's room?" Balin's awed voice repeated. "Your mother's room?"

"Who put it there? And During's gold? How much?" Gloin asked.

Thorin told them, "According to the text script, Lee had translated, Durin V had hid the Arkenstone when the Nogrods decided to mount an attack with another clan. The gold, we'll take you to see it, it is immense covers the entire Erebor is undergrounds from the palace to Dale."

"That big?" Oin exclaimed.

Thorin nodded. "We sent for you to help move the gold. That was why we were surprise to see you so soon. Too soon, we didn't know you came for mother. It is fortuitous you were here when you did."

Oin and Gloin nodded their heads still dumb-founded at the find.

"You don't think the Nogrods will be back once word had gotten out about the gold and the Arkenstone?" Dwalin asked

Thorin looked at his cousin and said, "That is why we want just family to do this and we were hoping to find this contract Durin V had carved out about the Nogrods. It was supposed to be out in plain sight. Frerin and I searched the Receiving Halls, figuring it would be there but nothing." He said glumly.

Balin nodded, "It will be found, and once it is, they will have no claim to the gold or the Stone." The others nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe it, Durin's gold…it actually exists. Thank goodness for your ThoraLee."

Thorin nodded as he grinned. "Aye I am a lucky man, nay…the luckiest man. Thank goodness she hit me!"

Balin and Dwalin laughed at him, "Yes, thank goodness she did."

Then a feminine voice came into the room, "And if you don't do something about my back, Master Oin, I'll hit you as well as the closest gentleman in this room."

They all looked up in surprised to see Lee leaning against the door frame, she was dressed in Thorin's oversized shirt that came to her knees and bare-feet as she had her right fist balled up ready to put it to use,

Oin looked at her guiltily as he began to fumbled out of his seat and hastily gathered his bag, "Why yes, ma'am…right away…um, Thorin..someone….please escort her back to her room…I'll be along."

Thorin stood hurriedly and brought her out of the chamber and settled her back in her room and awaited for Oin and his poultices.

The other dwarves chuckled as they said in one voice, "Fireball!

…..

End of Chapter 24


	25. Chapter 26

**Again, thank you to all who put this story on your alert! And on your favorite, too! I am most grateful!**

…**.**

**.**

Coming Of Age – Chapter 25

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Dwarves were resilient creatures, they were known to heal fast and swift, of course, love and care helped quite a bit as well.

Two days after the fateful event saw our dear friend ThoraLee up and in the saddle of her new friend Grakarbor. Accompanied by Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Oin, and Gloin they made their way to Dale to pay a visit to her father Erimm and his brother, the former Royal Valet Crimm.

They set off in the early morn hours, having preferred to arrive before most folks in Dale began to stir and went about their day. Lee did not want to create any excitement their arrival would cause.

The trip was uneventful as those bullies were gone; they were on their way to the deep bowels of the Lonely Mountains to work the mines.

When the citizens of Dale heard of the heinous crime committed by Crudd, Shia and their cronies, they were appalled. They all liked ThoraLee, despite the fact that she and her twin had been mischievous growing up in Dale but they were harmless fun and pranks, whereas the Cimbollis were a different set of bullying; it affected many businesses. The elder Cimbolli had turned out many hard working merchants because they did not want to abide by his bullying tactics. Thus they found themselves with lesser to no business, thanks to the Cimbollis.

Now that they were gone, life in Dale was better again for business prosper. Merchants were able to conduct their businesses without the fear of the Cimbollis' and their threats. Yes, Dale prospered once again.

Little Nuin's parents were merchants and now they lived in the biggest house in Dale and soon they became the richest family but they remained good friends with Bels whose mother still sew for a living although she had to hire more help in her booming business! Bels loved her new big house and her own big room. She and Nuin became inseparable as they grew up.

The news of Lee surviving the attack was nothing short of a miracle for the people of Dale. She was their heroine in all their eyes if she was not already when she saved Bels from drowning. News of her secret union to Prince Thorin spread all over the city, faster than the news of her attack by the Cimbollis and company. Of course, for the next two days, the talk around the city was of Lee and Thorin and her attack and the conflicting stories of how she confronted Crudd, Shia and company. In each story, Lee was shown to be the heroine, fighting off from six to ten to twenty attackers! With just a broken oak limb and a dagger. It was also intermixed with plenty of fighting, Crudd suffering from broken to severed limbs, Shia also suffering the same fate as well as her losing her hair!

Soon in the city, little girls were seen welding little oak sticks, playfully whacking their friends, pretending to be Lee confronting pretend Cimbollis and company. These stories went on for years come; ThoraLee and her Oak Limb! Many decades later, it became a favorite bedtime story for all little dwarven children in Dale.

Of course we veered off in our story here…

Back to our current story, as soon as Grakarbor stopped in front of her old house, Lee hopped down and rushed to the door and banging it opened.

"Father! Uncle Crimm! It's me Lee! I'm home!" She looked about her in the living room. The room she had lived since she was about ten. Since she had left the wood elves and reluctantly lived here but grew to love this house.

As Thorin entered the room, he saw her disappointment and felt her sorrow for her, "Perhaps they are in the workshop."

Her eyes brightened instantly as she nodded, wondering to herself why she did not think of it herself. She quickly ran out of the room, through the kitchen, the back door, the back yard and to the work shop. She smiled when she saw the black smoke billowing out of the chimney, indicating the forge being fired up.

Opening the work shop, she peeked into it and smiled widely. Her father was bent over and frowning over a piece of metal as he was about to strike it with a hammer over an anvil. Her uncle was holding another long piece of metal in the hot fire. They were not aware they had visitors.

Thorin and the other dwarves had arrived by then, the workshop was crowded so the guard sensibly stood outside the workshop.

Lee silently bent down and retrieved her dagger and was about to throw it at her father when Thorin touched her shoulder and shook his head.

Lee smiled and shrugged and once again, before he could react, she flicked her dagger and threw it like a dart as it landed near Erimm.

To the old dwarf's credit, he didn't flinch as he continued his work as he said, "Good morning, my dear. I see you are better, not much, your throwing is still a little off to your left."

He set aside his hammer as he pulled the dagger out of the wall and gave it a cursory glance handling it back to Lee, "That wrist needs a little more work here. Took a week off to work in the palace and you've become soft." Thorin saw the old dwarf grinning in the corner of his mouth that was not covered by his beard. _That old devil!_

Lee bowed her head but she peeked up at her father and said mischievously at him, "My apologies dear father. I was quite indisposed for the past few days."

Erimm looked at her and nodded, "Yes, His Majesty paid us a visit when it happened and explained to us all about the whole thing. You are now well, my daughter?"

Lee went over to him as he hugged his daughter as she leaned into his neck and beard, "Much better, thanks to Thorin's cousin, Master Oin."

Erimm nodded, overcome with emotions. He knew how close he came to losing his only daughter.

As they separated, Erimm hastily wiped his eyes with his sleeves, Crimm came over and gathered her into his arms as well.

"Ah my dearest niece, I too am glad you are well. When your father heard from Shoshin the other day, he was…" her uncle shook his head sadly. Then he continued. "But His Majesty's fortunate arrival stopped your father going after the Cimbollis."

Lee turned to look at her father in awe. "Father?"

Erimm shrugged his aged shoulders as he toyed with her dagger and looked at her, "Yes, Curran can consider himself fortunate he wasn't home that evening, as well as that son of his."Then Erimm hefted the dagger and threw it across the room, landing neatly at the wall near Crimm's head. Crimm did not flinch as he nodded approvingly at his brother.

Gloin and Oin was stunned as their eyes were as wide as saucers while Balin, Dwalin and even Thorin shook their heads; Erimm was nearing 250 years old and he still had the strength of a middle aged dwarf.

Erimm walked towards where the group of dwarves was standing, Thorin introduced them to his father-by-law and Crimm.

Erimm graciously thanked Oin for saving his daughter's life.

Oin waved his thanks, told the elderly dwarf that it wasn't a big deal as he quickly came over and talk about Erimm's metal crafting.

Balin and Dwalin was talking to Crimm about his latest sword making.

Lee looked at Thorin and smiled, "It seems we are being left out."

Thorin nodded, "It seems your father and uncle took to your ordeal much better than I had expected." He held her as they watched them busily talking around the forge, not minding the heat of the fire.

Lee turned her face to him and said, "When you lived as long as they have, and put up with Jor and I, nothing surprised him much anymore." Then she said, "Come to the house with me rúzín, I have something for you."

Thorin grinned as he nodded willingly. They slipped from them, thinking they had left undetected.

Erimm smiled, "How are they, really?" he glanced at the new comers, Oin and Gloin.

Oin shook his head, "Like a pair of quarrelsome dwarflings, if you ask me."

"Aye," Balin nodded. "Never a dull moment at the palace. The queen wanted to give them a whole palace of their own, on the other side of Lonely Mountains, they way they argued every minute."

"Me wife and I didn't argue half as much as they do." Gloin commented as he looked closely at the metal before him.

"No, brother," Oin shook his head. "Your poor wife threw that iron pan at you when you told her the pork was not salted enough."

The others began to laugh.

"Well it wasn't! And my head still hurts!" Gloin was rubbing where she had thrown the pan at him, several months ago!

…..

Back in the house, in Lee's old bedroom;

Lee was rummaging in her dresser and pulled out small wrapped linen. She turned around where Thorin was standing near her by the bed and handed it to him.

Thorin took the package but did not open it, "What is this Lee?"

"A belated wedded present," she smiled.

"Lee…there is no need for this…"

"Just open it, Thorin. It's not much but I want you to have it."

He nodded as he removed the cloth layering and saw that it was a gold chain necklace. He looked at her in askance.

"Look closely at it," she prompted.

He picked it up and did as she bidden, and saw that it was interlocked thrice so that if a loop was broken, it was still connected by two more loops. It would never break.

"It is a really fine workmanship, Lee. You made this?" Thorin asked, knowing the answer anyways.

She nodded as she pulled him down to sit with her on the bed, "I made this when I first learned about gold crafting. It was fun to do."

"Fun?" Thorin chuckled. "Only you, my dear," He shook his head. "Placing little value to something many people valued much. Do you know what this necklace with this craftsmanship is worth?"

Lee shrugged.

"You really don't know?"

"I don't care, I enjoyed making it, and now I am giving it to you as your wife. I hope you will wear it and treasure it." She said it as she watched him.

Thorin handed the chain to her, "If you will, dear wife, put it on me, I would be honored to wear it and I swear on my death that I will never remove it from by body."

Thora nodded as she teared at his touching words, put the gold chain over his head and leaned in and kissed him deeply, he held her tightly.

It was a long time before they returned to the workshop holding hands.

Balin and Dwalin, upon seeing ThoraLee wanted her to show their cousins how the she did her etchings within the sword.

Lee was only too happy to show them her work and soon presented two new dwarven made long swords with finely dwarven etched kudzul battle cry along the edge of the swords. Oin and Gloin were duly impressed.

As the sun began to set, it was time they took their leave. Lee gave all four dwarves daggers she had made. The dwarves, their eyes shining with gratitude and admiration, accepted their gifts eagerly. The daggers were put away into their boots.

As they bid the elderly dwarves a good evening complimenting their fine work, they began riding away.

Lee's goodbye to her sire and uncle were as quick as well as sad but she knew she could visit them whenever she could. Erimm nodded and hugged her hard and advising her to be more careful of herself and Thorin as well. Crimm gave them the same advice, although he gave Thorin a certain look and Thorin nodded in understanding; Thorin knew that they loved Lee above all things they held precious and if something happened to her, Thorin would be held accountable to them. Message received, Thorin nodded.

Crimm nodded, satisfied by his assurances.

Their way home was a sad and quiet one but Lee was contented as well, she saw that her father was still the same, her homesickness pangs had dissipated, and she was ready to return home with Thorin.

As their ponies plodded along the dirt road towards Erebor, Lee heard noises behind her. She looked back, she saw a long line of procession of more ponies and carriages.

"Thorin look, what is going on?"

Thorin looked back as he squinted his eyes, there was a banner flag waving in front of the procession. He frowned and muttered; he recognized the insignia; Nogrods.

_Why were they doing back here again?_ Thorin wondered.

"The Nogrods are back." He looked at Lee.

Lee returned his looks and shook her head worriedly, "You don't think they knew about Durin's gold and the Arkenstone?"

Thorin shrugged, "I'm not sure Lee. News certainly travelled fast." He trotted to catch up with his cousins who were ahead of them and relayed the news to them. They looked behind them and frowned. Lee joined them soon and they decided to quicken their pace to reach Erebor and informed the King and Queen of the news. And braced themselves of the arrival of the dreaded Nogrods.

….

End of Chapter 25


	26. Chapter 27

Coming Of Age – Chapter 26

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In the Receiving Halls, they were standing in force; on the dais were King Thrain, Queen Nur, Princes Thorin and Frerin flanking their father's throne on his right. On the lower platform, were the four cousins, dressed in their resplendent court attires with the Durin insignias on their breastplates. ThoraLee was not present at the moment although she was dressed in her finest dress and she was wearing the Durin ring on her left hand, in the middle finger to signify her wedded status.

She hoped she did not faint in front of those detested Nogrods.

"You'll do just fine, Princess."

She looked up and saw the sentry guard nodded encouragingly at her. She smiled at him; she remembered him as the sentry who had let her see the King when she asked for an audience with Thrain. It had seemed a long time ago, so much had happened since.

"We will not let anything happen to you or anyone of the Durin family. We swore to protect with our lives, and we meant it. We swore to protect the Stone and the Durin gold that no one outside will get it." He said with a firm nod.

The other sentry on his left nodded in agreement.

Lee looked them, "Thank you. But it seemed we have been betrayed. Someone within the palace had informed the Nogrods about the Durin's gold and the Stone. Why else are they here?"

The first sentry glanced at the second one and looked back at Lee, "You are right, Princess, we have a traitor, or two. If you let us, we will get to the bottom of this."

Lee nodded, "Please be careful. The Nogrods are very cunning."

"We can be even more cunning. Rest assured, this will be handled with discretion."

Lee then said, "This will be between you and me, and Prince Thorin. What is your name?"

"Rothin and Lethim, your Highness." They answered.

"Very well, be careful."

…

Nogrod King Gul Mored I, if he could, had gotten fatter; his jowls under his neck and doubled since his last visit, as was his wife who was sporting a new dress one that was tailored for her newly widened girth.

King Thrain watched as they waddled into the Halls, surprisingly accompanied by the Princess Gruffidel on foot, instead of her golden litter and servants. Thorin privately thought they must have had enough of her nonsense, mutinied and dumped her out of her litter and made her walk instead. Served that snobbish wench right for mistreating her servants thus.

"Ah Thrain! I see your family is all here! Excellent! Excellent!" Gul Mored I exclaimed out loud as he stood before Thrain.

"Yes indeed, introductions are in order I presumed." Queen Pri clapped her chubby hands as Gruffidel eyed Thorin with interest. Thorin was wearing a new sky blue tunic and black tight pants and knee high boots while Frerin was in his new amber tunic and black pants and knee high boots.

Thrain nodded with a scowl as he introduced the Queen, Prince Frerin, and their cousins. They gave the Nogrods a somber nod.

Gul Mored took no notice of the slight as he was not here for pleasantries.

Thrain was not either, "What do we owe this visit, Gul Mored?" coming to the point.

"Well, apparently we were misled. Our… anonymous source informed us that you have found the gold and the Stone, so we came for our rightful share."

_Well, how's that for direct?_ Thorin thought as he arched a brow at his sire.

"Your share? How dare you lay a claim to the gold and the Stone?" Thrain glared at him.

"I dare because I have the contract, Thrain."

"If memory serves me right, you tore the contract before you left."

"That was not the real contract, Thrain. Really, you think I would tear a real contract my ancestor had written, upon saving your ancestor?" Mored tried to reiterate the point.

"Ah, is that right? Well, according to the text script, and we have successfully translated the text script, your ancestor, Gul Mon had relinquish all his rights to the gold, and the Stone."

"What text script?" Gul Mored asked.

"Don't play me for a fool Mored! Everyone King in every clan knows about the text script. And how your ancestor fell and lost his head."

Gul Mored for a moment glance at his wife in nervousness before he waved his hands about and said, "That text script must not be true. The contract I have in my possession is the true one. It said that my ancestor Gul Morel saved Durin's live. And that is that. Whoever translated the script must have it wrong. I hope you did not pay him much. It is all a falsehood."

"If it is a falsehood, how come it led us to the gold and the Stone?"

Gul Mored's eyes flashed greedily, "Well, I…I…I'm sure your interpreter must have done that to want you to be in agreement with him. I want to see the gold, just to ascertain it is real, of course."

"Of course…not. It is in a very safe location, I assure you. And it is real. Real gold. My cousins here, all four of them know their gold. They have verified that it is, as well as real silver, real gem stones. A lot of them."

"A...a…a lot of them…care…care to tell me how...how much? I mean just an estimate?" Gul tried to wave a nonchalant air about him but Thrain saw the gleam in Mored's eyes.

"I'm afraid not, Mored, there were too many."

"Too…too…many…did you hear that Pri?" he turned to his wife.

"I surely did, husband." Pri had the same look as her husband.

"Father, what about me? And my arrangement?" Gruffidel spoke.

Mored nodded at her, "Ah yes, the contract…that is right. My share of the gold and the Stone and the union of my daughter and your oldest son."

Thrain began to laugh out loud.

Mored was angry as he said, "I don't see what is amusing, Thrain, this is serious business. My daughter had expressed her willingness to wed your son. To join our kingdoms and make it a bigger kingdom. You once considered a possibility on this alliance."

"Yes Mored, I did but things had changed. I do not need your kingdom and my son is now happily wedded."

"WEDDED!" Gruffidel exclaimed out loud! "To whom?"

"Yes, to whom?" Mored and Pri demanded at the same time.

"Really Mored, she is the daughter of a respectable metal smither. But the point is she my translator and as it was an agreement between my son and the lovely young lady. I have a daughter-by-law now. Besides, you told me that your daughter was too precious to wed my son. How was I to take that?" Thrain asked.

Mored opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out so he clamped it shut.

"She is not of noble birth. It should not be sanctified." Gruffidel tried to argue her point.

Mored looked up and nodded, "Yes, your son must wed a true princess. And my daughter is the true princess. She is of Nogrod clan, a real princess." He pointed out with a smirk.

Thorin frowned, "There is no law against whom I wed." He clenched his fists tightly.

"Not according to the contract stated here, signed by our ancestors." He patted his breast pocket with his chubby hand. "And with the union, I get the share of the gold, and the Stone."

"_I would love to shove that damn contract up his…" _Thorin muttered under his breath as Frerin's face turned red, he had heard his brother's mutterings.

"How dare you come in here and make these unfounded demands?" Thrain exclaimed angrily.

"I can because the contract stated, Thrain." Mored held his many jowled chin up.

Queen Nur suddenly spoke up as she smiled, "Would you like to meet my new daughter , Queen Pri? Thorin simply adore her. It was such a mutual union." She smiled at the plump queen.

Pri and Gruffidel exchanged nervous looks before they nodded, "Yes, Queen Nur, I'll be much delighted to meet your newest addition."

Nur nodded to a guard who then proceed to walk to the doors behind the dais and opened them. Thorin walked down the dais and waited for her approach.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, the guard nodded at her as he gave her a slight smile and a nod as she walked forward confidently. All she saw was Thorin's encouraging face as she moved toward him. He held his hand to her as she took it and they walked together to the front of the dais.

She bowed low to Thrain and Nur, then she turned to Gul Mored and Pri and bowed to them before Thorin led her up the dais.

Standing by her mother-in-law who was beaming at her as Nur said, "Please meet my daughter, ThoraLee, daughter of Erimm…"

"Erimm!" Gul Mored blurted out as his face turned beet red.

Everyone looked at him as he tried to recover.

"Do you know her sire, Mored?" Thrain asked, intrigued.

Mored shook his head quickly, "No! Er, no…my mistake… I must have heard something else…after all, I am getting on my years…I …so, you are the daughter of this E…Erimm and what does he do?"

"My father is a metal smither, as is his brother, Crimm." Lee answered.

Mored paled slightly when he heard their name but he managed to keep his composure. "I see. They are…alive?"

Lee frowned as she thought these inquiries from a stranger were odd about her father and uncle. "Yes, your Majesty, they are well, thank you for your inquiries."

Balin looked up at Thorin in puzzled exchanged looks; Thorin arched his brow in answered.

"I think the hour is late, why don't we retire to our beds for the evening? Our servants will show you to the guests' quarters." Nur stood up as she announced.

"An excellent suggestion, Queen Nur, it was a long travel for us." Pri nodded as servants began to stream in and showed them their quarters. The Durin family remained where they were until the Nogrods were gone and they began to talk at once.

"We must have extra guards…" Thrain began but Nur shook her head, "No, they would suspect."

Lee smiled, "Why don't we put extra guards outside a room where there is nothing within?"

They all looked at her as if she was crazy but Thorin began to laugh and nodded, "Yes, the Nogrods would think that room would be the room that contained Durin's gold or the Arkenstone and they will try to get in. Might try to bribe a guard or two."

They all nodded, "I like the idea, Lee. How smart. I wonder how many pranks you and your twin had played on your sire?" Gloin asked in admiration as he shook his head chuckling.

"You don't want to know, Master Gloin, you really don't want to know, sir." She laughed.

"I hoped that if you have children, and you will have many," Nur grinned. "That they will give you as much trouble you have given your father, my dear."

"My father had given us that speech a long time ago, your Maj…mother." Lee said shyly.

Nur laughed.

Dwalin then looked at Thorin and said, "I'm afraid that is not all that."

"What do you mean?" Thorin asked his cousin.

"That princess Gru…Gro…um what's-her-name, well, she did not take too kindly our Lee snatched Thorin from under her grasp. She and her mother were talking a mile a minute the whole time her father was talking, and the looks she gave Lee was not friendly looks either. I do not trust that young lady."

Thorin shook his head, "She was all fussy and full of herself the last time she was here, I don't think she posed any danger, Dwalin."

"All I'm saying, I saw her looking at Lee, and I am not comfortable."

"What do you suggest? Lee is protected in her room, I'm with her in there." Thorin said.

Lee's face was beet red with embarrassment.

"I know. It's just…I have a bad feeling about this, that's all." Dwalin said as he looked down.

"I guess, we all have to be on our guards. The Nogrods are up to no good. I for one, trust Dwalin's bad feelings, brother or not." Balin said.

Dwalin looked at his brother gratefully.

Lee looked at Dwalin and said, "I agree with Dwalin…"then she held up her hand to Thorin for he was about to argue. "Listen to me, Khazad-zukin, this Gruffidel is much smarter than she look, outward appearance can be deceiving. She will try something…I don't know what but just be careful, all of us, to not give them any ammunition to aid in their search for the gold or the Stone. And you, Thorin, you are their key to the Durin's family."

They all stared at him.

"Me?"

"Yes. That princess wants you. If she could get herself aligned with the Durin's blood, all will be lost." Nur agreed.

"My big brother is now a sought after hot property like a prosti…OW!" At least six of fists came down on Frerin's head at the same time.

"Serves you right for using such foul language, boy!" Thrain glared at his son.

Lee covered her mouth to keep from blurting out laughing, her cheeks were glowing red.

"What was that business about Mored's interest with your sire, Lee? Do you know them?"Thrain asked.

Lee shook her head, "No I have never seen them in my life, sir. I was just as surprise as you are."

"I agree," Thorin said. "There is something about them I just don't like."

"He certainly seemed very surprise to hear about Erimm's name and Crimm's." Thrain continued.

"Perhaps, the name is a common one?" Lee offered.

The King shook his head, "Nay, it is not a common name, neither is your uncle's." He said thoughtfully.

Lee was at a loss for words; she never knew where her family was from originally. All she knew was that they grew up with the wood elves when she was very young. Her beloved mother had died when the twins were born, leaving her father to raise them. Her uncle was already working at the palace when they were growing up. That was all she knew.

"Well, I don't know about you, I think it is time to retire for the night." Nur announced when no one had anything to say.

They all nodded and bade each other a good evening.

As they left, Dwalin and Balin pulled Thorin aside to discuss an idea they had…

…

End of Chapter 26


	27. Chapter 28

Coming Of Age – Chapter 27

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Dwalin's bad feeling proved right;

It was very late in the evening when he felt a soft bare body crept into the bed in the total darkness and came to lay next to him.

He tried to protest but a hand on his mouth silenced his protest as another began to unbutton his shirt. A soft moan from the soft body pressed against him was heating him as she ran her hand all over his hair, "Shh…let's not make any sounds. Just enjoy our bodies as we entwine together."

He nodded faithfully as she continued with her hands.

Once she had fully unbuttoned the shirt, she spread the shirt apart and marveled at his chest hair, for he had a lot. She frowned again but shrugged; she was not into manly chest hair but for this one time, she would endure it. She thought to herself that once the prince had been compromised, he had no choice but to severe his ties with that metal maker daughter and wed her. And she would make him shave a bit of this excess hair. Um…well, make that more, lots more chest hair.

Never knew Durin men are that hairy! _But the things I have to sacrifice for the family, for the gold; her eyes gleamed in the dark at the thought of the amount of gold she would soon have._

He was rather handsome, that Prince Thorin. Gruffidel thought to herself as she continued to run her hand through his hairy chest and slowly made her way down to his pants and smiled as she heard his breathing quickening.

"You like this, don't you?" She felt him nodding.

She ran her hand within his pants…hmmm…more hair...goodness they are a hairy lot!

At least, the Nogrods fellas back home were not that hairy, some of them are very smooth, a few smattering of hair but that was it and she had like it. She was more than satisfied with them; oh yes. Gruffidel smiled widely as she recalled some of the young men she had lain with.

"Um…"

"Sh…don't talk, remember?" She said softly as she began to pull his pants down

"Yes, but perhaps you should know I am…"

She set back up to put her hand to his lips, "I said, quiet."

"I know but I want to know who you are...my enchantress…"

"Why Thorin, it's me Gruffidel…your soon to be wedded wife, once we're joined, there will be no going back to that plain metal maker daughter you think you are wedded to." She said confidently as she began to assault him below his waist again.

He squirmed a bit as he tried to protest as she straddled over him, he realized she was not wearing anything beneath some gauzy material. He tried to shove her off him but she held firm as her bare thigh clutched tightly onto him.

He grunted as he said in a strangled voice, "I think this is as far as I am going to play."

Gruffidel frowned at his words, not understanding his meanings as a strange sound of metal striking against something and soon, a flame was lit. She looked to her left where a glow was beginning to brighten. There were three dwarves standing against the wall in the far corner of the room!

Gruffidel screamed out loud but was shut off when a big hand clamped her mouth. She turned to look and her eyes widened as big as saucers, if it could be bigger when she saw that it was not Prince Thorin she was on top of but a cousin whom she did not know.

In fear or embarrassment, she tried to extricate herself from her position but as she struggled, she tripped over her diaphanous robe and landed on the floor by the bed, rubbing her rump.

Dwalin was hastily fumbling, trying to pull his pants back on as his cousins laughing in the corner.

"What is this?" Gruffidel demanded angrily as she looked from them to Dwalin who was smiling at her.

"What do you think, Princess?" Balin returned.

"This is supposed to be the Prince's private chambers." She replied, trying to sound dignified.

"Now, how did you know this is the Prince's private chambers?" Balin returned as he exchanged glances with Oin and Gloin, who shook their heads.

Caught in her own mistake, she tried to recovered, "Well, anyone knew that the…the...doors with the sign…outside…well…He invited me into his chambers earlier."

"Oh, he did, did he?"

"He did." Gruffidel nodded her arms across her chest.

"Funny, the prince is in the Princess' room, asleep with the Princess ThoraLee his wife as we speak." Balin said, Oin and Gloin nodded, smiling.

Gruffidel, caught in her lies and her face red, shook her head, "Well, he must not be able to get away from her. I must have thought it was tonight. Maybe, it must be tomorrow eve. Well, I must be going. It is late now." She turned to leave and tried to open the door but Oin had beaten her to it and opened the door for her.

"Good eve, Princess, you might want to dress uh, more appropriately. There are men here abouts." Oin grinned.

Gruffidel snapped her head at him as she glanced at herself, and saw that she was revealing a lot of herself and turned to see Balin and Gloin smiling back at her in a very friendly way. She tried to cover herself as best she could but it was futile, any which way she was revealing a lot of skin about her.

She harrumphed at them and walked away from the chambers as the guards who were posted along the hallway tried not to stare but were seen laughing as Gruffidel tried to walk proudly off.

Balin, Dwalin, Oin and Gloin, upon seeing her disappearing down the stairs, began to guffaw out loud.

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time!" Oin nodded.

Dwalin giggled, "Indeed, I feel young again!"

Gloin laughed, "We are still young but I know what you mean. I feel like a dwarfling."

Balin nodded, "Well, I feel I could skip all night long!" To prove it, he jumped up in the air and kicked his short legs out and landed neatly on the floor with flair.

His cousins laughed through the night.

Dwalin was still laughing as he said, "And I have something to tell Thorin and His Majesty, but it can wait till the morrow." He gave a big yawn and said, "I am plump worn out. It is time for bed." His other cousins nodded as they left the chambers to return to their rooms.

…..

It was early morn, after they had their morning meals when the Nogrods met again in the Receiving Halls. The Durin family were there again to meet them, including ThoraLee.

Gruffidel refused to look at the cousins at all.

Standing before King Thrain was a Durin guard who was currently on his knees.

"This guard was found wandering around the Receiving Halls, inquiring the whereabouts of the gold and the Arkenstone. Now, I ask you cousins, "Thrain looked at Oin, Gloin, Balin, and Dwalin. "If you're a Durin guard, you would know, under oath, the location of the gold and the Stone wouldn't you?" the cousins smiled and nodded.

The guard paled as he glanced over to where Gul Mored stood.

"Let me ask you, who are you? Who do you really work for?" Thrain asked him sternly.

The guard shook his head.

"Very well. Guards! Take him to the dungeons, he will be sentenced to death in the morn by beheading." Thrain had raised his hand up and was about to put it down as a final gesture when said guard looked at Mored, "He made me do it!"

Gul Mored sputtered as he came forward, "Look here Thrain! I did not! He would accuse a King! Guards take him away! Do as your King bid!" The guards came and dragged the man who was screaming curses and foul words at Gul Mored but he paid him no heed.

"Well, that was unfortunate. Why would I want to do that? I want to foster a good alliance with you, Thrain. A good alliance." Mored was waving his hands about him. "I want to make good the contract our fathers had signed. I feel it is important for our kingdoms, eh Thrain?"

Thrain did not answer.

"And this union?"

Mored glanced at his daughter, "Gruffidel? Well, she still wants this union. She is still young and a maiden and…"

"Ahem…if I may, your Majesties…"Dwalin stepped forward, his face was red but determined.

"Father! Now is not the time to talk about the union!" Gruffidel tried to pull at her sire's plump sleeve but he was shaking his head, "Not now, my dearest, I'm trying to work out for your best interest and future, just stay back." He tried to brush her off.

Thrain frowned as he was getting a head sore with so much talking about him.

He stood up and in a loud voice, "Silence!"

Everyone obeyed him, even Gul Mored.

"Good," Thrain smiled. "Now, Dwalin you may address the Halls first. I would like to hear what you have to say?"

Dwalin stood before Thrain nodded, "Thank you, your Majesty. I just want to point out to his Majesty, Gul Mored that his daughter is not a maiden."

"WHAT!" Gul Mored screeched as he turned to face his daughter.

"Wha…What is the meaning of this! Thrain! Your people dare sullied my daughter's honor?" Queen Pri waddled before the King.

Thrain nodded at Dwalin, "Care to explain?"

Dwalin nodded and with Balin and his two other cousins as witnesses, explained to them the incident the night before. Gruffidel's face was as red as crimson with shame when Dwalin was done. Her father and mother's faces were furiously red with embarrassment.

Thorin was smiling, he reminded himself to thank his cousin for his 'bad feeling' and how right he was. Lee arched a brow at her husband as she smiled widely. Thorin held her hands tightly as she whispered to him, "You owe your cousin a lot of gold for saving your beautiful behind."

Thorin laughed as he nodded, "I might offer him the hand of the Princess Gruffidel, if he'll have her later."

Lee laughed heartily as she bent her head into the crook of his neck.

Gruffidel embarrassment turned to anger when she saw their intimate gesture; she thought she should be the one that should be standing close to the prince, not that metal maker daughter!

She stomped her feet within her gown but no one paid her any attention.

"Gul Mored, I think we do not have any more transaction to conduct. If you would, we do have personal family matters to attend to."Thrain said.

Gul glared at Thrain but the expression was wasted as Thrain had turned his attention to other matters.

"Very well, Thrain, I will return when the time is right. The contract, Thrain, remember, the contract." Mored patted his breast pocket again.

Lee leaned over to Thrain and whispered something to him and then straightened again.

"Mored, before you leave, I would like to see this contract again, if it you don't mind." Thrain requested.

Mored eyed him narrowly, Pri came to stand beside him and they talked for a moment. Mored shook his head, then finally nodded.

"Very well, no tricks." Mored warned him.

Thrain arched a brow at him, "Now, what kind of tricks would I employ?"

"You might alter the contract or something."

"I most certainly will not!" Thrain exclaimed angrily at him.

"Very well, but we will look at it on a table." Mored said suspiciously.

"Very well." Thrain said. He wanted to say more, but held his tongue.

They all moved to the dining Halls, now cleared of dishes and such.

The Nogrods stood on one side of the long table while the Durin family stood on the opposite side. Thrain and Nur were standing next to Lee, who was standing beside Thorin and then his brother and cousins.

Mored removed the old parchment paper from his breast pocket and spread it out on the flat surface of the table.

Lee began to read the writings; it was in Cirth. It was written as such :

_King Thror II was most grateful to Gul Morel IV whose service to the Durin during the civil war was received with gratitude and in return would reward him his daughter's hand in wedded union and the share of Durin's gold if it was found. The Arkenstone as well, would be equally shared._

_Signed Thror II of Durin_

_And Gul Morel IV of the Nogrol_

As Lee read it, she saw the errors and smiled. Then she looked up and said to Thrain.

"Your Majesty, if you would have a servant brought forth a blank parchment, inkpot and a quill?"

Thrain nodded and turned to a servant with Lee's strange request.

While they waited, Lee turned back to Thrain and asked him,

"Sir, your father, King Thror was he King Thror I or II?"

Thrain looked at the old parchment and then at her and grinned and replied, "He was Thror I."

Thorin, at first was puzzled, saw the contract and began to smile but he was still puzzled as to what she wanted with the other items.

As soon as the servant came back with the requested items. Lee walked to the end of the table as she placed the blank parchment and inkpot asked him to write the word Durin on the blank parchment, which he did so. Satisfied, Lee turned to Gul Mored and asked him to write the Nogrod's word.

Of course Mored protested as Thrain laughed, "Come on Mored, a simple word. Surely you can write your ancestral name."

Mored turned to Lee who was holding the quill, snatched it from her hand and dipped it roughly into the inkpot and tried to look over the parchment and began to write, shakily, the word, Norgrol. Not Nogrod.

Everyone, in the Durin family saw it, and gasped, and began to chuckle.

"What? What is so amusing?" Mored asked angrily as his wife and daughter looked confused.

Then Thrain turned to his guards, "Guards, kindly get these people out of the palace and those so-call servants with them as well."

"Yes, your Majesty!" his guards came around to obey his orders.

Mored, still confused tried to protest at being manhandled, "What is the meaning of this?"

"Meaning? Why, whoever you are, you are not a Nogrod. You just wrote Nogrol. You did not put the two slash across the here. You don't know the Nogrod's name."Thrain paused.

"I don't know who you are," Thrain continued. "But your charade is over. I'm giving you a chance to leave here and never darken the Durin Halls ever again. Next time, there will be no leniency on you or your family. Do I make myself clear?"

Gruffidel, angry that her family was exposed, in desperation grabbed one of the guards' short sword and ran after at an unsuspecting Queen Nur who had her back to the whole thing but Lee saw sudden movement turned and saw Gruffidel holding the sword up as she was about to strike the queen, instinctively raise her own hand up to block the blow as her palm was sliced by the sword.

"LEE!" She heard her name as she fell backwards but as the sword continued to come down at her, Lee twisted her body over quickly to her left and began to get up using her bloodied hand on the wall as support as she tried to get away from Gruffidel, she braced herself from Gruffidel's next attack . But it never came. Lee turned to look and saw five pairs of daggers sticking on Gruffidel's body. She lay dead as the sword clattered loudly on the bare floor. Lee looked over to where Thorin and his four cousins, their breath barely heaving as they looked at her in shock. Thorin rushing toward her as she ran to him, they held onto each other hard.

"Gruffidel!" Pri screamed her name as she ran to her body. Pri sobbed hard as she gathered her dead daughter to her.

Mored was nowhere to be found.

"Guards, get them out of here…"

"Your Majesty…Look!" A guard was pointing at the wall.

Everyone looked at the direction the guard was pointing, it was the bloody wall Lee had smeared while she getting up; her blood had been absorbed into the wall and now words began to appear!

The words looked imprinted into wall now and everyone could read it;

_King Mon I of the Nogrod defeated in the civil war against the Durins, willingly accept all blame for the deaths of his people. From this day forth, he will no longer seek the fortunes belonging to Durin and his descendents thereof._

_The Arkenstone, previously known as the Járkarstân also is and always have been the rightful owner of the Durin heir and family. The Nogrods or any of its descendents will never pursue or claim any part of the Járkarstân. _

_Only the true heir of the Nogrods will reveal this contract for all to see and to reveal the true intent that any descendent of the Nogrods will not break this treaty. Unless, the Durins and the Nogrods entered an alliance amicably shall this treaty be voided._

_Signed King Durin IV of the Durin_

_Signed Gul Mon I of the Nogrods_

…

"Lee…the carved contract, it's here. We found it. Nay, you found it. Wait…your blood...it revealed the secret. It says that only the true heir will reveal this contract. That means you are a …" Thorin was staring at her in amazement.

"I'm a Nogrod? "

…

End of Chapter 27


	28. Chapter 29

Coming Of Age – Chapter 28

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"I'm a Nogrod?" Lee exclaimed, horrified.

Thorin held her injured hand as he kissed her gently, "So it would seemed, my dear."

Thrain and Nur came to stand before her, "Well, if you are a true Nogrod, I'd rather you than those frauds any day!" Thrain declared with a smile as he put his hand on her shoulder for comfort. Nur nodded.

Lee looked at the King, "I don't know if my father knew who he is, all his life all he knew is metal making."

Oin had came back by this time with a medicine bottle and began to apply ointment to the slash on her palm and began binding her hand, she thanked him gratefully. "It seemed Master Oin, you have saved me once again." She reached over and kissed him on his cheek, earning her a pair of bright red rosy cheeks which he bashfully waved her off.

"Lee, really your dagger, indeed it is the one that saved it all!" Dwalin was admiring his dagger, as was Balin.

"Indeed, sharp little bugger." Balin agreed as he put his dagger into his boot. "Thank goodness we had these handy." He patted it as he stepped away.

Thorin watched her, "I think we should pay your father and Crimm a visit as soon as possible. They need to know what is going on, Lee and we have quite a few questions for them that require answers."

She looked at him and nodded, "Yes Thorin you're right, I have quite a few myself."

"And we're going with you, of course." Balin said.

Thorin rolled his eyes, "Of course, cousin, I wouldn't leave you out of it."

"Oi! Count us in!" Oin, Gloin, and Dwalin nodded as well.

Lee looked at her beloved and said, "Well, so it would seem. Saddle up fellas! I hope my best friend Grakarbor is up for another trip to Dale."

Thorin flashed her his bright blue eyes which made her heart thumped hard as said, "Oh, that old beast is always up for a ride on any day, my dear."

Thrain and Nur watched them leave with a wave and nod, "Young people, always flitting about. Never home for long." Nur said with a sniffled.

Thrain looked at her with an arched look, "Hmm, I only wish they would be safe this time. They are still young."

Nur nodded as she sent out a silent plea to Aulë for protection on the young dwarves, especially ThoraLee.

…..

Lee rode on Grakarbor who seemed to be delighted to see her as well as Thorin who was now riding Frerin's pony.

As they drew near her home, Lee knew something was not right.

The front door was wide opened, Lee saw as she tried to dash in but Thorin held her as he waved to his cousins, "Check within." He said quietly, unsheathing his dagger.

They did likewise as they stealthily moved inside.

"Thorin, let me go! If anything happens to my father…Uncle Crimm…"tears began to flow down her cheeks as she struggled against Thorin's grasp.

"I know Lee but if they are fine, Balin will let us know! If the bad people are still within, you shouldn't be in there."

"I can handle myself," she argued.

"I know rúzín, but I don't know who or what we are dealing with."

She nodded and relented as she turned into him and sobbed, he held her as he looked about them.

There were signs of disturbance about them; the door had several scuffed marks that he knew were not there before in his previous visits. The decorations about the house were knocked down; yes, definitely a struggle but the question was when did it happen and he hoped that Erimm and Crimm were all right and unharmed. He knew Crimm was still strong to take care of himself and he had seen Erimm not long ago welding the deadly dagger. But they did not know what is going on, for all they know, the brothers might be in their cups, kicked up the decorations outside the house, kicked the door opened, forgot to close it and fell asleep within their beds. He hoped that was the case, for Lee's sake.

Then he recalled Gul Mored's reaction when Erimm's name was mentioned; he had known Erimm! And Crimm! And it was not on friendly terms. No, Thorin thought to himself, he really didn't like this whole situation at all.

Finally, he saw his cousins coming out of the house, their faces grim; not good. He held onto Lee a little tighter.

"I'm all right, Thorin." She assured him.

"I know but just in case…"

"Thorin, whoever took Erimm and Crimm, left a long time ago. And they left this." Balin held up a piece of cloth with the fake Nogrod insignia.

"Gul Mored," Thorin said grimly they nodded in agreement with him.

Lee squeezed her eyes tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder, "Where did he take them? That evil man knew my father is a Nogrod, why else would he take him and my uncle?"

Thorin held her tightly, "We will find them, Lee."

She looked up at him, "How? Do you know where they have been taken?"

Thorin was at a loss for words, for in truth, he did not know the answer.

"Somebody around town must have seen something." Balin said thoughtfully,

Lee turned to them, "What about the guard the King had sent forth to look after my father? And the maid?"

Balin shook his head, "We found them in the kitchen with a sword through them. Whatever they saw, they took to them with Mahal."

Lee cast her eyes down in sorrow for them and then she frowned when she saw white piece of paper on the ground. She bent down and picked up and began to read it.

Thorin saw her reading, "Lee? What is it?"

"A note…I think. It is my father's hand writing but it has one word; Eluin. The wood elf? How would Eluin help?" She looked up at Thorin. "I don't understand, what did this have to do with father and Uncle Crimm?"

"What are we waiting for, Thorin? Let's find the elf." Balin said. "The longer we stand here, the further Erimm and Crimm move from us."

"The wood elves live deep within the woods beyond the lake. I hope we can fine Eluin in time."

"Wait," Thorin held his hand up. "I must send a message up to Erebor, we must let my father know where we are heading."

They looked about them but there were no soldiers about them. They did not want to lose time going back to the palace when Thorin heard children laughing nearby and he remembered his father told him of a tiny solder who had pledged his service to his him.

His face lit up as he ran into Lee's house and upon spying papers and inkpot with a quill, he wrote on the paper quickly before he came back out and mounting the pony he asked Lee the direction of little Nuin's house. Lee nodded as she saw his intention and they all mounted their ponies and rode into Dale, surprising many of its denizens as they quickly scattered out of their way as Thorin, Lee and cousins rode till they arrived at a rather large house. Luckily for them, Nuin and Bels were playing outside on the large front lawn, his wooden sword by his side of his pants.

Thorin dismounted quickly and came into the lawn, calling Nuin before him.

Nuin was certainly surprised to see the Prince and his new big friends sitting upon the ponies looking solemn and seemed in a hurry. Bels greeted Lee cheerfully as she dismounted and stood beside Thorin, she return Bels greetings and inquired about herself and her mother while Thorin and Nuin talked.

Without wasting time, Thorin began, "Master Nuin, soldier of King Thrain of Erebor. Remember you have taken an oath to serve your King?"

Nuin nodded nervously.

Thorin continued, "Do not be afraid, little one, I have a serious matter for you to undertake to the palace, do you think you can do you it for me?"

Nuin nodded his head as he stood up straight, "Yes sir, you can count on me."

"Very well, young Master Nuin, I need you to deliver this to the King at once." He handed the rolled up paper.

Nuin received it reverently and looked up at Thorin and said, "Yes sir, I will do it at once."

Balin removed his Durin ring and gave it to Nuin, "Show this to the guards, and they will let you through. Don't lose it, Master Nuin, I will want it back when I return."

Nuin held the ring and the paper and nodded as he grinned, "Don't worry, sir. I will get them done."

"Very well, let's go." Thorin said as they all rode on. Bels waved them good bye as six ponies rode out of Dale and into the woods, circling the lake.

…

It was late in the afternoon when they entered the deep woods. Lee saw that much had changed in the dense trees, with overgrown roots and tall overgrown weeds and wild flowers and berry bushes. They dismounted from their ponies as they were moving slowly and hesitantly.

Lee found a small stream she remembered vaguely when she was little and decided to follow alongside, Thorin followed her lead.

"You know we left without any provisions." Gloin said glumly behind Thorin.

"Aye, and my medicine bag." Oin shook his head.

"Guys, these woods provided for the elves," Lee smiled at them, bending over to look for certain signs for the elves but saw nothing. "I'm sure we can survive like them." She stood up and began to look about them, the sun was setting.

"I think we should settle down and make camp near the stream. It is getting dark and I am getting hungry," She suggested.

Thorin glance behind him and saw his cousins' nodding enthusiastically. "Very well, Oin, Gloin, gather some woods for fire. Balin and Dwalin gather some dry leaves, we'll make some bedding. I'll hunt some rabbits for supper. Lee, secure the ponies."

"Now wait a minute here!" Lee flashed an angry look at him. "Who appointed you the leader of the group?" she jabbed a finger at his chest angrily.

Thorin looked down at her finger and gently removed it, "I am the oldest of the lot here, that makes me the leader of you lot," he stated simply as he inclined his head to her. His cousins nodded their heads to affirm his seniority.

Lee, hands on her hips, harrumphed as she kept her chin up and muttered under her breath sarcastically, "I guess I married an old man then."

Balin who was standing closest to her began to choke in his laughter as he turned redder than a red rose. Dwalin began thumping his brother's back.

"I heard you, insolent wench!" Thorin said but his eyes were twinkling as he moved away from the group. "Stay with my cousins and keep out of trouble. Please."

Lee did a curtsied as she said, "Yes, Your High and mighty Highness…" she didn't finish her sentence as she espied a rabbit under a bush near Thorin and quickly bent to retrieve her dagger and flicked it and within seconds, the rabbit was dead its hind leg still twitching.

"WOMAN!" Thorin's bright blue eyes were thunderous as he was about to step forward when the dagger came wheezing past him below his chin, missing him by a hair's breath. "Will you stop doing that with that blasted dagger!" he held out his hand angrily, "You'll not be allowed to have that confounded weapon if I have my way! I was this close to losing my head!" He was rubbing his neck quickly just to assure himself it was still attached.

Lee gave him a pained look, "No, Thorin! I just killed part of our dinner! I wouldn't have hurt you."

Dwalin and Balin was busily keeping out of their business as they were gathering the dead leaves.

Oin and Gloin, too were gathering sticks and twigs for fire. Oin spotted what he deemed was wild herbs for flavoring, also kept themselves out of the quarrels of the couple.

Thorin saw the hurt look in her eyes and felt he couldn't get angry with her for long; she did kill that rabbit, and she did not nick him. She was really a good marksman with the damn dagger! He had to give her that. She just couldn't resist scaring him to near death!

He softened his looks and picked up the dead rabbit and pulled the dagger out and saw she had pierced it right in its heart. The rabbit had died instantly. Deadly.

Handing her back the weapon and setting the rabbit down on the dirt, Thorin eyed her and said, "Come with me, two sets of eyes are better than one." He held out his hand to her. "You may help me with dinner."

Lee accepted his hand eagerly but before they moved he said to her, "Just watch my head, my dear. I am rather fond of it on my neck."

She nodded, "And I am rather fond of it and the rest of its body as well, Khazad-zukin." He growled at her lovingly as she nuzzled within his neck.

"Oh, for the love of Mahal… please go away the two of you! And get those rabbits killed!" Gloin griped unhappily. "I am starving here. This one rabbit is simply not enough for all of us! No more lovey talks please! I can't take it anymore!" He covered his ears as he tromped away muttering out loud as he shook his head.

Thorin and Lee laughed as they moved from the group and began their hunt.

About an hour later, three rabbits in each of Thorin's hands, six altogether. Thorin and Lee came back to a nice blaze going and a few sticks trimmed and sharpened for skewers.

Thorin and Oin quickly field dressed the rabbits by the stream, Oin stuffed and wrapped the rabbit and skewered them into the sticks and soon they were roasting in the fire pit.

Lee was sitting next to Thorin, snuggled into the crook of his arm while he was roasting both their rabbits in the other hand as she watched his cousin Oin and asked him why he was interested in healing.

Oin concentrated on his stick and his rabbit before he spoke.

"I was a dwarfling about ten when Gloin was seven and he fell off his pony learning how to ride for the first time. He broke his arm and we didn't have a healer in our town at the time, our healer had traveled to another town to assist in a difficult birth. Our mother was in hysterics as was Gloin. Father was in the mines and we have not seen him in months…"

"Was it the time when there was that huge cave-in..." Thorin cut in as he shook his head as he added. "Many lives were lost that day. My father mourned for the lost of his cousins for a long time. It was a while before he was persuaded to reopen that damn mine again."

"Why was that?" Lee asked.

"That was when we discovered more Mithril. It was not worth dying for, if you ask me." Thorin said angrily as he remembered that day when he lost most of his kinfolks; Oin and Gloin's father, Balin and Dwalin's father, among many more, all for the precious and rare metal.

"Thorin, I don't remember much of my father," Gloin said softly. "It did not hurt as much at all. Our mother, though, she never got over losing him. She loved him very much and I know it was a chore to raise us but she did. She loved us when she went to join him with Mahal. I always thought she died of a broken heart."

Oin blinked rapidly as he made to check on his skewer. "As I was saying, Gloin was in great pain and his elbow was bent off crookedly. I don't know what came over me but I just stood before him and yelled at him and snapped his bone back in place and that was that."

Lee chuckled, "No way that it was that, Master Oin."

Oin eyed her and laughed, "Yes indeed it was. But that day forward I became interested in healing and setting bones. Gloin never let me near him again when he fell."

Gloin grunted at him, "I did not. He laughed at me and called me a baby. Boxed his ears I did, or tried to one handed."

They all laughed at them as they began to argue as brothers would do.

Soon their rabbits were ready as they ate hungrily. When they were done, they buried the bones in the dirt and washed up in the stream.

"That was rather a delicious but tasteless rabbits!" They all agreed as laughed more and knew they had come unprepared in this journey. Oin tried to remind them that were he to have his medicine bag which also contained a container of salt, they would have tasty rabbits tonight but the group thanked his efforts nonetheless, Oin felt better.

"Well, it is getting late," Thorin said as he observed their drooping eyelids. "I'll take first watch. Then Balin, you will take second watch…after three or four hours, then Dwalin till morn."

They all nodded at their Leader and huddled down as close to the fire as possible on the bed of dead leaves Balin and Dwalin had made.

Lee was made to lie down between Thorin who was sitting up and Balin. For once she did not argue with him as she drifted off to sleep, her hand held safely within Thorin's.

Thorin watched her sleep during his watch, looking up through the trees he saw the stars shining down upon them as he bade Aulë for their protection, for their guidance into the unknown.

Watch over us, and over his beloved ThoraLee's safety as he reached over to stroke her smooth cheeks; _I love her too much, I do not know what would happen if something were to befall upon her! And I can't help feeling that something would! My heart is hers. She is all I have now. She means the world to me and I would do anything for her!_

A single tear fell from Thorin as he blinked away the rest and looked beyond the woods a parting of trees, in the darkness he knew the tip of Misty Mountains barely peeking into view.

High above them was Lonely Mountains, his Mountains. Nay, not his, theirs…his and Lee's…and their people.

He had not forgotten his vows that he would take her to the huge forge inside the mountains, and show her how Mithril was forged. He would make her a wedding gift of his choosing, something that would complement her green diamond ring.

.

…

End of Chapter 28


	29. Chapter 30

**Hello all! Just want to thank everyone who has been reading this story! I hope you are still enjoying it, and thank you to all who put this on alert and favourite, I appreciated you all very much! My kids are still stoked over this story as am I. I can't believe it is already Chapter 29 and more to come! I do hope you'll stay for the duration and find out the rest of this story.**

**Again, Thank You!**

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Coming Of Age – Chapter 29

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Surprisingly it was ThoraLee who was sitting up when Thorin began to stir when the sun was beginning to rise.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked about him and saw all his cousins fast asleep. At first he was angry, he had assigned Dwalin to be the last one on watch ere daybreak not Lee!

He sat up intending on shaking his cousin up and give him a blistering lecture when Lee leaned close to him and kissed him on his lips and whispered, "Do not be angry, Khazad-zukin, I couldn't sleep so I told Dwalin I'd swap with him, he did put up an argument but of course he lost." She smiled.

Thorin looked at her as he shook his head, "Of course I should have known, my dear. Poor Dwalin, he didn't stand a chance, did he?"

"He did not even get one word out," she chuckled as she put her hands upward and stretched out and yawned.

Thorin lay where he was as he continued to watch her indulgently, wishing his cousins were not with them as he felt deep urgings stirred within him. He caught her hand as he held it and began to kiss her knuckles gently and quietly, his blue eyes turning into a forest green as he continued his slow assault on her hand. Lee was breathing hard as she watched him, her green left eye amazingly turning into a matching color as his forest greens while her hazel right darkened to a light chocolate caramel.

He sat up and gathered her to him as he kissed her heatedly, she tried to close the gap as much as she could as she put her arms around his neck while he ran his hands all over her back, snaking one under her shirt as he felt bare skin, her heart beating faster as he began to run his hand to the front…

"…I wish they would go somewhere a little more private, certainly not for my eyes and certainly NOT this early in the morn!" Gloin said grumpily.

"My poor eyes! My poor young eyes are forever burned!" Dwalin was laughing as he jestingly covered his eyes.

Lee buried her reddened face into Thorin's beard and chest as a deep rumble sounded within him, his hand still within her bare back.

"I think I'll lie here for while, if you don't mind," he said pointedly at her with an arched brow as he looked a little embarrassingly down at his pants.

Lee followed his looks and saw his 'problem' and chuckled as her face inflamed even more as she stood up and nodded, "I'll go...and have drink by the stream," she covered her mouth with her hand as she began to walk from him and towards the stream.

Thorin quickly tried to cover himself.

"I'll find some breakfast of sort," Oin said as he stood up and stretched, as he looked about him.

"More rabbits would be lovely," Gloin groused, accompanied by his growling stomach. "See? My belly agrees with me too." He inclined his head firmly.

"When are you not hungry, Gloin?" Oin shook his head while Balin and Dwalin shrugged their shoulders. They all knew Gloin was always hungry.

"When you find some breakfast, dear brother. And why are you still lying about Thorin? Are you not well?"

Thorin looked up at his cousin and nodded, "Oh I am, just enjoying the woods about us," he smiled genially.

Gloin eyed him suspiciously, "I think someone is hiding something, you have food and you're not telling!"

"No! I do not!" Thorin laughed at his cousin who had bent down and grabbed a handful of dead leaves and threw it at Thorin.

"Oi!" He sputtered as a few pieces landed into his mouth as he glared at his cousin in surprised. Thorin turned and grabbed two handfuls of dead leaves and threw it back at Gloin who ducked and Oin got the leaves on him.

Thorin tried to apologize but less than a minute later, as well Thorin's problem had receded, all five cousins were flinging dead leaves at each other.

Ten minutes later, dead leaves abandoned, the cousins were rolling around the ground wrestling and laughing, their hair and beards covered with leaves and twigs…

"Ahem!" Lee cleared her throat loudly. "Am I interrupting a family ritual of sorts?"

They all stopped their wrestling as they poked their heads up and saw Lee eyeing at them, with an arched brow and saw her hands full with…

"FISH!" The cousins began to clamor to get up but pushed each other down again, another bout of wrestle match ensued.

Lee watched them a moment with a grin as she turned away from them and moved to the edge of the stream to begin cleaning the fish.

She had caught eight fish, one for each of them and an extra one for Gloin, she smiled.

"Here, let me help you." Balin and Dwalin offered as they set some sticks down by the fish.

She nodded as she stood up, "I see you children are done playing?"

Their faces reddened as Dwalin giggled and nodded as he picked up a fish as he began to clean it.

"How did you catch these fish, Lee?" Thorin asked as he came by the stream.

Oin and Gloin were busily making a fire.

"Saw them in the deeper part of the stream." She answered. "And I learned how to catch them when I lived with Eluin and his people."

Thorin nodded, "We have much to be grateful to them, then."

Then he added, "After we break our fast, we must get moving."

They nodded solemnly, eager to get started.

…

Later, after making sure the fire was put out, the party left their little encampment and led their ponies down the stream.

It was slow moving as the undergrowth was thick with intertwining roots that reached up to their thighs. A few times Oin and Gloin had tripped over hidden roots.

Their ponies became even more skittish and reluctant to move forward as they pulled them hard on their reins.

"Any signs of our elusive friends?" Thorin asked Lee for the fifth time of the morning when Dwalin fell this time.

"I'm okay!" He assured them with his hand up waving at them.

Lee was about to snap a snarky retort at her husband when she saw a cut mark high on a tree bark. She hurriedly handed the reins of Grakarbor to Thorin as she climbed on a root that grew from the tree. She traced the mark on the bark and looked at a tell-tale direction; only one familiar with the elves would know how to read the inconspicuous mark. Fortunately for the group, it was what Lee was hoping to find; it was Eluin's people.

"They were headed that way!" She indicated to the left ahead of them.

"How did you know? All I can see is a straight mark!" Balin was scratching his head as he tried to make heads or tail at the simple straight line.

Lee pointed at it, "You see the faint line indicated up here?" She pointed at the end of the line, Balin could barely see it but he did. Lee continued, "That tells whomever seeking the elves that they are heading that way."

Balin nodded but he still looked quite confused, "Elves and their secretive ways!"

Dwalin nodded in agreement, "Indeed, we dwarves are not much into such trickeries, just point it simply." Oin and Gloin nodded together.

"Come on, you all. Let's get going. And please stop looking for the ground…Oi!" As he teased his cousins for falling constantly, Thorin tripped himself as well and down he went, in a much undignified manner!

Lee laughed at him, "That's for teasing your cou…"

"Not a word from you!" Thorin exclaimed as he hurriedly got up, his hair all over his face as he impatiently flicked them off and glared angrily at her. "Not one word, woman! Now march on!" For emphasis, he smacked her rump, earning a dark glare from her.

"Old man!"

"Wench!"

"Goodness, there they go again!" Dwalin rolled his eyes up again as they moved on again.

But they trudged on with their ponies steadily and without much bantering.

As the afternoon sun began to heat up, the group growing uncomfortably sweaty and humid in the dense woods, they saw something different; the tree trunks were thicker. Thorin stood before the biggest tree amongst and found he couldn't put his arms around it; he estimated it would take about four of him holding hand to hand to be able to encircle the tree trunk. And the undergrowth was not as thick here.

Lee smiled as she looked about her; she was remembering these trees and its surroundings. This is where Eluin's people lived.

But where were they?

Then she remembered something else as she bent down and plucked a blade of grass. She held one end of the grass, and applied both her thumbs as she bent them together and catching them together, bent her lips slightly, put them right up against her thumbs and blew so that the air went between her thumbs and over the blade of the grass, gave it a high pitch sound. The ponies upon hearing it nickered in response.

Lee waited for a while before repeating the process.

"I don't understand," Lee said despondently. "They usually respond to this call…they taught Jora and I…"

"ThoraLee? That was quite loud for our ears!" Eluin's light trilling voice came from above the trees.

Lee began to laugh as she looked up at where his voice came from and saw not just Eluin staring down but several more elves standing upon thick branches of the biggest tree Thorin was hugging previously.

When Eluin came down to stand in front of Lee, she bowed respectfully to him. He inclined his head. "Welcome my friend, I see you are well healed. Indeed you have a skilled healer in your Ekhëbûr."

Lee nodded as she turned to Oin, "Indeed, thanks to Master Oin's skilled healing powers."

Eluin turned to face him and inclined his head, "Master Oin, son of Groin. Our people are most grateful to you."

Oin bashfully nodded his head, "It was my duty and pleasure to do so, ThoraLee is kinfolk."

Eluin glanced over to Thorin who stood next to Lee.

"ThoraLee's Khazad-zukin." Thorin nodded proudly.

The rest of the elves had descended from the trees by this time and stood behind Eluin as well as some surrounding the dwarves.

"Eluin, may we talk?" Lee asked politely but anxiously.

Eluin looked at the dwarves individually before settling on Lee, "Certainly, is something the matter?"

"Tell me about my father."

"The dwarven Erimm?"

She nodded, "Yes. What do you know about him and where he came from? And my uncle Crimm."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought for a moment. "They were orphans we found in the woods almost 250 years ago."

"Orphans?" Lee whispered.

Eluin nodded.

"I was with Ruluin, my sister when we heard babes crying. We were on our way home at that time and the sun not quite setting yet when we came neat them. We decided to follow the cries whereupon we saw two male dwarves and a female dwarf who was trying to protect the two tiny infants and a young dwarfling boy. The men were holding knives above them. Ruluin shot her arrows upon the dwarven men and killed them instantly."

Lee gasped in shock, her eyes wide as saucers. Thorin's were an angry sky blue. The other dwarves were shaking their heads.

Eluin continued, "When we neared them, Ruluin held the arrow over the dwarven woman who told us they were Nogrods from Mount Dolmed in the Blue Mountains. Yes, quite far from here. She had just birthed them and was hurrying home.

"Ruluin saw that she was weakened from birthing and wanted to offer aid but she refused. She could not possibly care for three young dwarflings. We offered help again and with sanctuary but she proudly refused our aid. She said it would endanger us. Her people were looking for her, as well as her mate's enemies.

It was then that we heard shouting noises. The dwarven lady panicked and picked up the infants and tried to move them, the young dwarfling began to cry, giving away our location. In haste, I carried the child as Ruluin took one of the infant and we began to run. We were able to outrun them, as elves did run fast but we had to wait for the lady with her infant and we were able to hide them in a deep ditch. We asked her her name in which she told us she was Yorlin of Nogrod, her mate was Gul Mon.

"Wait, Gul Mon I?" Lee cut in with anguished tones.

Eluin looked at her and nodded, "Yes, he was the one, we found out it was an enemy who had fell him and took over the kingdom.

"She told us a dwarf named Mored had plotted to take over the Nogrods, he had betrayed her husband's trust, letting him into his confidence.

He convinced her husband to war with the Durin because he heard of the gold and the gem the Arkenstone."

Lee glanced at Thorin who was listening to Eluin's tale grimly.

"Those men were near us again so we fled from them. This time we had nowhere to hide, Ruluin and I were able to climb trees easily but Yorlin still fresh from birthing and carrying a babe could not was shot by one of the men pursuing her.

Hiding the child on a high limb, I was able to shoot them with my arrows from above. They could not reach us nor could they see us with the infant and young child who was clinging onto the limb for dear life. As soon as they thought the lady dead, they left the woods.

We climbed down as soon as possible and saw that the poor lady had not gone yet but soon. Her life was weakened as the arrow was quite near her heart, a fatal shot.

She implored Ruluin and I to take the children to Ekhëbûr to be raised amongst her kind, the boy's name was Crimm. The babes were Erimm and Killimm, a boy and a girl."

"I have an aunt?"Lee's cheeks were wet as well as the other dwarves.

Eluin sadly said, "Yes and no."

"I don't understand, Eluin."

"Yorlin passed her life to Aulë soon after but what she didn't know was the infant daughter Killimm had taken the fatal arrow her mother had received as well."

Lee turned within Thorin's arms as she sobbed hard.

Eluin was looking downcast, having to relive the tragic moments of her kinfolks.

Thorin's cousins were heard sniffling sadly.

Eluin then took out something from within his shirt, there were two pieces of metal on a chain, one was rather big and long, the other a small one "This key was around Crimm's neck, I kept it in case Mored found the children. And the ring was Yorlin's. It was the Nogrod's family ring." He handed them to Lee.

The key had an inscription written with Mount Dolmed in it, "I believe it is a key to your home in the Blue Mountains." Eluin added.

She nodded as she wiped her tears. She stood up as she walked away from them and she fingered the ring lovingly. She slid it into her left hand, on her forefinger as it was small. It fit her perfectly.

All this time, she had never known who her people were. She thought she was from Dale but there was always an unknown element that hung in the air around her that asked; _who was she? Where did she come from? _

No more. Now she could say; I'm ThoraLee of the Nogrods.

"Hey, where are you wandering off to?" Thorin grabbed her from behind and pulled her close to him as she leaned back and rested her head on his chest.

"Just thinking," she answered.

He released her as he kissed the top of her head, "Don't wander too far, will you?"

She nodded as she continued her solitary walk, Thorin watched her as she meandered through the trees.

"You love her deeply, do you not Prince of Ekhëbûr?" Eluin came up quietly behind him, he was watching her as well.

Thorin nodded, "With all my heart." He admitted to him.

Eluin nodded, "This Mored had taken her father, did he?" Eluin asked again.

"Aye, and Crimm as well. We do not know where they went."

"What does Mored seek?" Eluin asked.

Thorin looked at the elf, "The Durin gold…and the Arkenstone."

The elf nodded wisely, "And has it been found?"

The dwarf nodded.

"Then, Mored could not be far from what he covets."

Thorin closed his eyes for a moment to think, "And we have a betrayer or betrayers in our palace aiding Mored."

"I see, he could be hiding them."

"Aye." Thorin opened them again as he watched his beloved returning. He smiled at her.

"She is always welcome here, and now you and your cousins too." Eluin nodded.

Thorin felt touched at his hospitality and inclining his head to him, "You're much welcomed within the palace of Erebor, my friend Eluin."

"As are you, my friend Thorin." Then Eluin saw that Thorin's cousins had gathered close to him, "Ah, your cousins too. Master Oin, Master Gloin, Master Balin, and Master Dwalin."

"Eluin," an elf came to him and spoke to him in Elvish and stepped away.

Eluin turned to the dwarves, "Please, my new friends, we have prepared a simple meal for you before you continue you journey." He spread his arm out beyond the biggest tree where there were elves about the ground smiling, as well as atop the tree still.

Balin looked up and said nervously, "I hope we do not need to climb up those trees…do not like heights," he mumbled to Gloin who nodded."

….

End of Chapter 29


	30. Chapter 31

Coming Of Age – Chapter 30

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Let it be said that Dwarves and honey did not mix well, especially dwarves with beards.

At the noon meal, the wood elves served the dwarves more fish; freshly cooked in wrapped leaves with salt, mind you. Oin was very much grateful to be able to taste something in his food finally, as did his brother and cousins. The elves had offered them fruits as well but they were politely declined as they were not much fond of them. They did accept the freshly baked breads eagerly and when the elves offered them jars of honey, the dwarves were puzzled; they had never tasted them before.

Lee showed them how to eat the sweet sticky nectar. She first poured the sweet nectar into a saucer provided by the elves, the dwarves ooh'ed as the golden glob oozed out of the jar and onto the saucer then she tore a piece of bread and dipped into the sticky goo and ate it. Lee closed her eyes as she chewed her honey dipped bread slowly, savoring the sweetness; it had been a long time since she had honey.

Thorin watched Lee with a skeptical expression as he sat next to her on a wooden bench, expertly made by the elves in the open woods, much to Balin's relieve. The impromptu feast was on a rather wide fell trunk that was hewn in half horizontally, serving as the elves' dining table. The seats were the other half of the trunk quartered, half of it on one side of the table, the other quarter on the opposite side of the table.

Eluin explained to them how the honey was made by the bees that buzzed happily around them landing on the flowers collecting nectar from within. From the nectar collected the bees stored them in their own home a thin membrane filled with individual tubes of cells of honey where the elves collect them. The dwarves found the process intriguing but they were even more interested in eating them.

The dwarves followed Lee's lead in pouring the honey into the saucer and dipping the bread into it and found that they liked the sweet taste and dipped more of the sticky nectar and ate more.

And that was what began the mess; a big giant sticky mess. Sticky fingers, sticky beards, sticky faces and in Dwalin's case who managed to spill the saucer of honey on himself, his whole front was covered with the sticky nectar.

The elves were tittering at Dwalin as they ate, none of them had gotten into a mess, not even the smallest elven child.

Of course, by the time the meal came to a close, no one was sitting on either side of him for fear of getting into a sticky mess as well.

"Really Dwalin, how are we to continue on with you? You're going to stick onto Podget!" Balin admonished his brother; Podget was Dwalin's pony.

"He can wash in the stream and wash your clothes. It would not take long for the sun to dry your clothes, Master Dwalin." Eluin suggested, smiling delightfully.

Balin nodded, "If I were you, I would best do it now!"

Dwalin hopped out of his seat as he held his hands outward, a few of the elves showed him the way, laughingly trying not to touch him though.

The other dwarves stood up as well, "I guess we might as well wash our faces too." Thorin said, his fingers were sticky as well.

Eluin nodded standing up. "Very well, we will show you the way."

They all followed Eluin to the stream and not long after, they were cleaned again, except for Dwalin who had no choice but to strip his clothing and handed them to the elves shyly.

While they were waiting for Dwalin's clothes to dry, Lee had a few more questions for Eluin about her father and Crimm.

"Did my father know he was a Nogrod, Eluin?" She asked him.

"Yes." He nodded. "As did his brother."

Thorin was startled, "What? All this time, he knew who he was, and yet he worked as a…a servant of the Durin family. Why?"

"I do not know," Eluin shook his head. "He was in hiding, perhaps."

Lee nodded. "Perhaps."

"Thorin, where do you think they are hiding them?" Eluin asked him.

"Whoever this traitor or traitors was or were, they might have been in the palace. With my family in the palace.

"We must hurry back to Erebor! We have delayed much time already!" Lee stared wildly at Thorin.

He nodded, "Have no fear, Lee. Father's personal guards are sworn to protect him and mother with their lives. I have already warned him to be on extra alert and if something should happened, he should take mother, Frerin, and Dis into the undergrounds where the gold is and stay there until our return. There are provisions down there already; we have been preparing to move the gold above grounds."

"When did you...Oh! Nuin!" An enlightened expression came upon her as she smiled his cleverness.

"Still, we should be going already. Is Dwalin's clothes dried?" Thorin glanced over to Balin who was standing next to Lee.

"I'll check on it," he turned and walked hurriedly to the other elves.

Dwalin's clothing was indeed dried as the elves handed them to him who came out of the waters and dried off gratefully and began to dress, feeling very cleaned.

It would be a very long, long time before they tried honey again. Dwalin, on the other hand had sworn off of it completely, he did not care to bathe in the cold water in front of the elves ever again.

The gangly group of dwarves was now eager to set off but first Lee bade a sad farewell to Eluin once again.

Eluin touched her forehead with his forefinger and said quietly to her alone, "You are the bravest dwarf I have ever known, and I am happy you are my elf friend. ThoraLee, were I to be a young elfling again, and you were not Thorin's rúzín, I would be honored to claim you as my mate. But that is neither here nor there," he looked into her eyes for a while before he dropped his fingers from her forehead as said in his normal tone, "I wish you safe journey. May your Mahal guide you and your friends in your quest. Use your talents well ThoraLee, they will serve you. When you see your father, wish him safe journey."

Lee looked at him in wonderment as she nodded and bowed to him.

Thorin came to stand by Lee as he inclined his head to Eluin and said, "Thank you Master Eluin for your gracious hospitality you have shown to us all. I wish you well."

Eluin nodded, "_Hennon le,"_ he said.

"You're welcome." Thorin smiled.

Eluin arched a brow at him as he broke into a smile as well as laying a hand on Thorin's shoulder, a sign of friendship.

Thorin nodded as they broke off contact and he mounted his pony, the others thanked Eluin as well before they mounted their ponies too. The elves waved them off and they rode off to the direction Eluin had shown them, a shorter route that would led them to Erebor quicker.

….

True to the elf's words, the path he shown them led to the gardens of Erebor.

By the time they arrived the gardens' gate, the new moon had risen, bathing the gardens with darkness.

"Exactly when are we going to eat?" Gloin whispered to his brother.

"Shh! Not now, Gloin. We have foul creatures to catch, after that you can eat till your heart's content. Not a sound."

Gloin nodded glumly.

They dismounted their ponies and tied them outside the gate and stealthily crept within the gardens and saw the Durin's guards at their posts.

"Who do you think is the traitor?" Balin asked as they looked about them.

"It used to be easy, if you do not have the Durin's ring, we would know right away but now…?" Thorin shrugged his shoulders.

"Thorin, I want to talk to these two guards Rothin and Lethim," Lee asked quietly.

"Why?"

She explained to him previously she had tasked them to keep an eye out for traitors.

"Rothin and Lethim? Father's sentry guards by the Receiving Halls?" Thorin asked her.

She nodded.

"Brilliant my dear" he looked at her.

"Can't we all just walk in there?" Lee asked.

Thorin thought for a moment, "I'd rather not but perhaps one of us might go in there…"

"I will," Balin volunteered.

"Me too," Dwalin nodded as well.

Lee shook her head, "I told them that they were supposed to talk to either you or I, Thorin."

"Well my dear, that just put a hitch in the plan," he glared at her. "I will not permit you such foolishness." He flashed her an angry look.

"Why not? And don't you tell me it's a man's work!" Lee snapped back at him

"Out of the question, Lee!" Thorin shook his head vehemently.

"Thorin, Mored does not know that I know about the Nogrods," she tried to reason with him.

"Don't be naïve Lee. He is cunning, he will know."

"Just let me try, I promise I'll be careful." Thorin rolled his eyes upward.

"I'll go with her Thorin, she'll have my protection." Balin said, wanting to end their bickering and get this over with.

Against his better judgment, Thorin looked at his cousin whom he trusted the most. and his beloved whom he had grown too fond of to lose her and he didn't want to part with her. But he must trust her, nodded at them reluctantly.

Before they took off Thorin called out to Balin and said pointed to him, "Watch out for her."

Balin and Thorin exchanged very careful looks before Thorin turned his glance to her and nodded and then he turned his attention to his other cousins.

Balin frowned as he looked at ThoraLee but shook his head and followed her as they moved into the palace.

Thorin looked at his remaining three cousins, "Follow me to the dungeons."

They nodded as they moved along behind him.

Lee and Balin climbed up the stairs leading to the Receiving Halls, they saw quite a few guards on sentry along the hallway.

"Any suggestions?" Balin asked her.

"We'll just walk by them just like we normally do, if anyone of them stepped out or looked odd, then we will know," Lee said.

Balin nodded, "I like this idea, let's do it." He really did not have any better one, so he quickly agreed to her hare-brain idea before he regretted it.

So, they walked side by side as if that was what they did every day, observing the guards' reactions as well until they reached the end of the hallways where Rothin and Lethim were on night duty.

As they saw Lee and Balin, they waved to them excitedly.

Lee and Balin moved quickly to them and they all stood together.

"Princess! Gor, were we glad to see you!" Lethim almost seemed to bounce out of his uniform in his excitement.

"What news do you men have?" Balin asked.

The two looked at him and then at Lee uncertainly.

"You can trust Master Balin," Lee said as she nodded her head to him.

As soon as she said so, Lethim began, "We found the traitor!"

Rothin shook his head, "Two, there were two of them, princess." He smiled at her.

Lee frowned; something was not right, they could not decide how many traitors here were and that smile, it was too friendly.

She remembered now, he smiled at her previously as well. It was too smug for her liking; damn! She should have caught that! Now she had put herself and Balin in direct danger!

She tried to get Balin's attention.

"Well, let me talk to Balin here for a moment, if you please." She said.

Rothin shook his head, "Oh no, I don't think so, your Highness. We were informed by Gul Mored to be expecting you and some company and to escort you below stairs."

"Now look here," Balin tried to sound dignified. "You are most out of line here, talking to a Princess like this. I'll hang you for it!"

Lethim pulled out his long sword and pointed at them, "You don't scare us so easily, Master Balin, let's go." He nudged the tip of the sword at them and pointed at the direction of the dungeons.

Rothin pulled out his sword as well and was pointing at them as they began to walk towards the dungeons.

Lee began to try to get Balin's attention as they walked ahead of them. Balin frowned at her wondering what she was trying to do.

She glared at him and then at her boot a few times but Balin wasn't getting the hint. Lee almost screamed at him in frustration.

As they walked down the stone stairs, she tried to remember how long it took to get to the bottom; they had a few more levels to go as she continued to try with thick-headed Balin again.

It was when they got to the second to the bottom stairs that Balin finally got the hint! Lee gave him a nod and she began to bend over her waist on the landing and coughed hard.

Balin pretended to reach for her, acting as if he was concern for her well being.

"Oi! No trickeries here!" Lethim tapped on the back of Lee's back with his sword.

Lee silently counted to three with Balin as they reached for their daggers and she shouted 'Three!' out loud as they pulled it out and turned around, knocking the long swords out of the way which thankfully the two were holding it loosely as it clanked on the stone stairs loudly. They jabbed their daggers hard into their hearts. Lee stabbed Lethim while Balin stabbed Rothin killing them instantly.

But they miscalculated something. Lethim and Rothin were bigger than Balin and Lee, so that when they pulled the daggers back out the two dead traitors' now dead weight carried their momentum forward as they were standing on the top of the stairs.

Balin and Lee saw them falling towards and began catching them but their weight were too much for them as they began to fall backwards and they came tumbling down, head over heels and over again, using the dead bodies to cushion their falls, it was a very noisy affair involving plenty of cussing on Balin's part and lots of groaning on Lee's part.

When they finally came to the bottom of the last step, Balin and Lee were forever grateful it came to an end but not so much because the two big bodies landed fight on top of them, their faces with their opened eyes staring right at them at a very close range.

Balin glared at her, "Next time let's not do the killing on the stairs, shall we? I think I might have broken my back or something." He grunted.

"Master Balin," Lee grunted as well as she tried to nudge the dead body off her but to no avail, "I don't choose where to kill our enemies but I'll bear your request in mind the next time and tell my enemy. I'll tell him...Look sir, this is not a good place to kill you at the moment, and the stairs are such a dangerous place to die, let's move to a much firmer ground before we proceed to tear each other's head off…there! How does that sound to you?" She said that saucily at Balin as she batted her eyes at him for good measure and smiled at him.

Balin stared at her as if she sprouted an extra heard when he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Indeed you are a minx! I can see why Thorin has his hands full with you! Bless him!" He continued to laugh for a little while more as tears leaked from his eyes.

"Really, I am having a rather hard time breathing. Do you think you can push your dead friend off you?' Lee asked Balin, her speech was restricted with a compressed chest.

Balin tried to push Rothin off but he just fell back right on top of him again, deflated his breath.

"Oof! It's no use! Let's hope someone would come down these stairs soon." Balin gave up struggling as he was exhausted from his exertion.

They lay there for a while before they heard footsteps. Lee and Balin exchanged looks; they did not know if it was friendly or not so they kept quiet. It was coming from the dungeons.

"…they are here, Pri! I just knew it!" Lee and Balin heard Mored's voice.

"But we have searched the whole palace! Now Thrain and the family are gone too! There is a secret hide out we just don't know. And these guards won't tell us. Where are those two fools at?"

"You are right, why are they not at their post? Come on, let's go to the quarters again. I just know it's in there…" their voices faded away as heavy footsteps stomped upwards.

Balin and Lee let out small breaths, "I thought they would be coming down here." Balin said.

Then a familiar male voice came above them as they felt nudges at their boot, "Problem?"

"Thorin!"Balin exclaimed as a smile spread gratefully on his face. "My, am I glad to see you."

He grinned at the fallen two, "Looks like you two are slightly…busy. Lee? Am I being replaced with a…sentry guard?" He gave her an amused arched look.

She glared at him as more faces came into view, "If you don't get him off me this instance, I'll make sure you will look like him…unmoving." She threatened him.

Thorin chuckled as he nodded to his cousins who easily pushed them off her and then assisted Balin. Thorin held his hand out to her which she ignored as she helped Balin up and herself up from the floor. Thorin shook his head as he grinned at her.

But he became serious when Balin told him what they found, their traitors; Rothin and Lethim.

Thorin looked over to where Lee was standing and said to his cousins, "Can you give us a moment?"

They nodded as they climbed above stairs.

"Lee, come here and sit with me," he said gently as he sat on the stairs, leaving her some space.

She nodded and sat by him.

"Lee, I wasn't sure about much coming back here but when you mentioned those two, it caught me off guard. I should have not let you go with Balin…" She was about to interrupt him when he held his hand up. "Just hear me out right this moment," she nodded.

He took her hand but did not turn to meet her eyes as he continued, "I took a very big chance by letting you go off on your own. Granted, Balin was with you but I wouldn't have it any other way. I trust him with my life, so I trust him to protect yours. He swore an oath to protect you, as well as Dwalin and Oin and Gloin. They are my not just my cousins, they are like brothers to me.

Rothin and Hilliem had not been in my family's service for long. I don't know them as well as anyone here. Yes, they should be under surveillance once we learned of traitors in the palace but so much was going at once that they slipped from under the radar. I am sorry they tricked you, if I had known, I would have warned you.

"Lee, I put you through unnecessary danger, it is my fault and for this I am truly sorry. I will try to keep you safer."

Lee was surprised; she thought she was getting a blistering lecture from Thorin for her reckless behaviour! She felt absolutely ashamed.

"Thorin, I am the one who should apologize to you, and everyone. I thought I knew what I was doing! I put Balin in danger!" She covered her face with her hands, "I could have gotten him killed." She shook her head.

Thorin smiled gently as he tried to pry her hands from her face, "Hey, you can't get rid of him that easily. I have tried to do so since we were dwarflings. He is tough. He will probably outlive us all, mind you."

"That's right." Thorin looked up and saw his cousins leaning downwards on the stairs watching them with concerned faces, Balin with a soft smile as he continued, "Remember the time when you put me into that wooden barrel and push me down the hill?" He looked at Lee and said, "It was a very tall hill."

Thorin shook his head and laughed, "You wanted to know how sturdy the barrel was."

The cousins and Lee laughed while Balin shook his head with embarrassment.

"And?" She asked.

"Oh, it didn't break but Balin came out of it because we didn't cover it and he hit a big rock and broke his shoulder."

Lee's eyes widened in horror, "Oh my. Balin! You poor thing! I hope Thorin didn't get away with it!" She glared at him angrily.

Thorin shook his head as he winked at her, "My father gave me water and bread for a week."

"Served you right for being so bad."

"Balin got back at me, though." Thorin nodded with a wider grin.

"Thorin! You promised you will not mention this ever again!" Balin stared at him in horror.

Thorin shook his head, "I didn't make any promise."

"We shook our hands!"'

"You shook Frerin's hand, not mine so it didn't count."

"Why you deceiving bugger!"Balin's eyes were near popping out in indignation. They were all laughing at them.

"What was it?" Gloin wanted to know.

"He put vinegar in all of father's wine and beer!" Balin gave him a dark look, "On Durin's Day." Thorin grinned as he told them.

They all looked at Balin and Ooh'ed at him as they shook their heads and busted out laughing.

Balin tried not to laugh but finally he joined them as he couldn't contained any longer as he tried to tell them, "You should see, Father invited the mayor of Dale and his wife and many more important people to the palace. There were many people there." They continued laughing.

"When they all toasted to father and took a drink and spurted out! It was the funniest sight to see! They were sitting at the long dining table and the people across from them, all their faces were wet! Balin was drinking apple cider at the time and he got to laughing so hard that it came out of his nose!" Thorin was slapping his thighs as he tried to breathe. Gloin began to snort loudly which cause the group to laugh all over again even harder. They had never laughed so hard in their lives.

It was a while before it subsided as Lee asked, "what happened then?'

"Well, since Balin was the only one drinking Cider, Father knew right away who had done it and so he sent him to his room, he got a sound thrashing the next day. But there were no wine or beer that was fit to be drunk, but plenty of apple cider. It was one time no one went home in his cups. Everyone was sober. It was the most awful feast ever. From that time forth, on Durin's Day, Balin was not allowed near the cellars. Ever."

Balin said sadly, "Aye, I couldn't sit for days, never forgotten that day ever. Thank you very much cousin."

Thorin inclined his head with a smile.

After a while, Thorin spoke again, "Well, our traitors had been taken care of, all thanks to Lee and Balin. Now, all that is left are Mored and Pri. How shall we take care of those two? I am up for ideas." He looked about Lee and his cousins."

…..

End of Chapter 30


	31. Chapter 32

Coming Of Age – Chapter 31

.

King Thrain's quarters was in utter chaos, thanks to Mored and Pri who were bent on discovering the whereabouts the secrets of Durin's gold and the Arkenstone.

Covered with perspiration, Mored was incensed. He turned around as he stared at the chamber that was Thrain's bedroom, the bed was slashed, sheets ruined, pillows destroyed, feathers scattered all over the floor. Broken personal items, shattered colored glasses and papers strewn about.

Mored was not paying any heed to the utter mess as his heavy doughy chest heaved, his face a dark shade of puce.

"Where is my gold?"

"Our gold, lovie! It's our gold!" Pri glared angrily at him across the room, a knife in her hand.

He waved his pudgy hand over her way, "Whatever Precious, you know what I mean."

"Oh I know what you mean dear. Do you?" She narrowed her gaze at him.

"What do you mean by that Precious?"

"You know what I mean," she waved the knife at him.

He gave her a malicious smile, "I love it when you talk mean and nasty like that my dear."

"Yes I know." She laughed her piggish laughter.

"Where are those two lazy bones?" Mored said angrily as he sat down on a chair and fanned himself. "Ought to make them search for it, if I didn't trust them myself."

"Why don't we get the old dwarves and make them find it?" Pri suggested as she hit the flat side of the blade of the knife on her palm.

Mored looked at her and nodded, "Y…yeeesss…I like that my precious. I like that very much. Why did I not think of that myself?"

"Because I'm the smarter half."

"You wish," He stood up and left the room, coming back a few minutes later with Erimm who whose hands were bound behind him and his mouth as well.

"You're going to find those gold now or I'll cut you down, and you won't see that daughter of yours ever again! Go" Pri prodded him with the sharp tip of the knife.

Erimm glared at her as he moved slowly around the room angrily.

_What gold? What in the world are they talking about? The fabled Durin's gold? Yeah that was just that, fable._

_Unless…Lee had really found it when she had agreed to help Thrain translate that text script they talked about._

_He should never have involved Lee in all these mess!_

_Gold! Bah! It had never brought anyone happiness but sorrow, deceit, greed, and lust. Looked what it did to my father! He was betrayed by this bastard Mored! If I ever get my hands on a dagger, he will never see another sunrise!_

"Oi, there! Search the gold!" Mored pointed the short sword at him.

Erimm turned his back to Mored as he moved away from him…

_Where is Lee? I hope for her sake, she is safely away from here…_

"Psst!"

He looked about him and took a double take!

Speaking of the minx of his daughter! He spotted her outside the window!

_What in Aulë name is she doing out there!_ He shook his head

He saw her beckoning him towards her.

He shook his head as he turned his eyes to Mored and Pri who were still looking for the gold and destroying the room as they move along.

It was then he spotted Thorin's cousins behind Lee as well.

Erimm breathed easier; at least she was not alone.

Lee beckoned to her father again but he hesitated and began to walk towards the tall window.

As he reached the window, Lee tried to open it but it was locked from the inside.

Erimm turned around and tried to unlock with his bound hands and managed to do so but Pri happened to glance up to check on him and saw Lee standing on the other side of the tall window and gave a yelp.

Mored turned to see what was going on and saw Erimm on this side of the door, Lee and the dwarves on the other side of the door hurriedly ran as fast as his chubby legs could carry and grabbed Erimm just as he managed to open the door.

He pulled Erimm close to him, holding the sword to Erimm's neck as Lee, Oin and Balin stood on the threshold, their daggers held high. Pri hurriedly moved to the other side of Erimm, holding her knife to his neck as well.

"Drop your weapons, or your father dies." Mored warned.

They continued to stare at him.

Mored cut Erimm's neck shedding some blood, "The next time I will slice his neck across so drop it!" he exclaimed loudly. Pri jumped at his unexpected loud voice.

Lee slumped her shoulders in defeat as she lowered her dagger and dropped it, Oin and Balin did likewise, looking thoroughly disgusted.

"Very wise. Pri, go collect them." Mored nodded to his wife.

Pri waddled over to them and picked up the daggers and place them on a table away from them.

"Now since you're here, you'll tell me where the gold is." Mored said.

They did not reply.

Mored began to get angry, "Don't make me kill your father, young lady. Tell me where the gold, and I'll let him live."

Erimm shook his head, his eyes pleading his daughter.

Lee looked conflicted; Erimm glared at her as he shook his head.

Lee shook her head, "Oin, your ring." She didn't have hers as Thorin was still wearing her ring and Balin gave little Nuin his.

Oin looked at her uncertainly.

"Oin, show him…I have to save my father!" She pleaded with him.

Erimm began to grunt through his gag, shaking his head, Oin saw him, telling him not to do it.

Mored sneered, "Come on, let's get going! I haven't got all day!" he dug the blade deeper without breaking skin.

Erimm was staring angrily at him, giving a deathly gaze. Mored grew frightened for a moment.

"H…h…hurry up…" he couldn't turn away from Erimm's stare as he began to pale.

Oin still hesitate, "Lee, I...I…cannot…took the oath." He looked down at his feet.

Mored wench his gaze from Erimm and looked from Oin to Lee, "Very well, you leave me no choice…one final chance… the gold or the old man dies."

Oin shook his head as he held the ring tightly in his fist.

Mored nodded as he raised his hand that plunged the sword into Erimm's heart.

"NO!" Lee screamed loudly as Erimm fell to the ground, the sword still sticking out of his chest.

Lee and Balin dashed over to the table and grabbed the daggers, Lee grabbed both Oin's and hers as she flicked one towards Pri landing deadly right into her heart as well as Balin's dagger, killing her instantly.

Mored panicking tried to pry the sword out of Erimm's chest found that he couldn't grasp the handle with his sweaty hands but Lee had gotten to him by then as she pushed him down as she straddled over him and plunged her dagger over his heart holding the handle with both hands . She pulled it out and plunged into it again and repeated it again and again.

Her teeth snarling as Mored's blood splattered everywhere as well as all over her but she paid no heed over it as she continued her assault on Mored.

"Lee!" Balin called to her but she didn't hear him.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks, blurring her vision but she did need to see as she blindly continued stabbing him…

"Lee!" Thorin's voice rang within the room, she did not hear him as well.

"EVIL MAN!" She shouted. "YOU KILL MY FATHER! I WILL AVENGE HIM!"

"LEE! ENOUGH!" Thorin shouted at her.

Finally he came behind her and knocked her dagger from her forcefully.

Her shoulders slumped in total defeat as she sobbed loudly when Thorin wrapped his hands from behind and picked her up and carried her out of the room.

"Nifir! Run a bath in Lee's room now!" Thorin called out when he spotted the bearded dwarf help maid.

She nodded as her eyes widened when she saw Lee's bloodied body.

"Your Highness! Is she…?"

Thorin watched Lee gently and said to Nifir, "She is fine, just in shock. I need to clean her up, put her in some clean clothes. Warm bed, and a good night's rest. She will be right as rain."

Nifir nodded as she left to do his bidding.

"Thorin!"

He turned with her to see Oin catching up with them.

He was holding a cup, "Something soothing and let her rest for the night, I'll leave this in her room."

Thorin nodded his thanks.

Oin hesitated a bit before he spoke up again, "Thorin, I should have done as she bid me to show…him the gold. If I did, Erimm would have lived. I am so sorry."He shook his head.

Thorin shook his head, "No cousin, you did the right thing. She knows it too. Erimm knows it. He died protecting her. You done well Oin." He nodded at him.

Crimm was standing beside him suddenly, he looked as if he had aged considerably as he nodded towards his niece whose eyes were now closed as she lay in Thorin's arms.

"She really needs you now that her father is gone, Thorin. Take good care of her."

Thorin nodded.

Crimm patted his arm and moved away from them and walked slowly towards the King's chambers where his brother's body was.

…

Once the bath water was ready, Nifir left them alone.

Thorin let her down and she stood on her own but he held on to her as she watched him while he slowly stripped her clothing. As soon as she was bare, he did the same to himself.

He led her carefully down into the big black basin where the warm water was ready. Once he sat them down, Thorin grabbed a small cloth and began washing the dried blood from her and washed her hair gently.

When she was cleaned, he washed and cleaned himself, never taking his eyes off her.

They sat in the warm water for a long while. Thorin began talking.

"Lee, I'm sorry about your father," he began softly.

"We found Crimm in the room next door, he was also tied up and was beaten up badly. I think his ribs were badly hurt but he refused to show it to us, saying he was fine. He was more concern about you though. You were so brave Lee and I am so proud of you, so very proud of what you had done. And I hope you don't blame Oin for not doing what he what he swore an oath to the Durin family. You must understand it. Lee?"

She gave him a slight nod.

"He is beside himself, he thought he had done you wrong, for causing your father's death. And you know he did not."

"No," she said softly. "I do not blame him, Thorin. It was Mored's fault. All the blame is on him and now that father is gone…" she shook her head as she leaned against him, closing her eyes.

Thorin stroked her hair, "All is well now. We shall have peace."

"I like that."

Later, cleaned and dressed in a simple gown, Thorin gave her Oin's concoction which she drank dutifully and laid down on the bed, he had also changed into a loose shirt and pants and laid with her until she fell into a deep sleep.

Thorin left her with Nifir, who had agreed to stay with her until his return, he left them and headed to the King's chambers.

As he moved about, he saw the servants had moved Mored's and Pri's bodies. And they had scrubbed as best they could all the blood splattered stain in the chambers as well. He could barely see them at all.

He looked into the bedroom and saw only the bed frame. Servants were milling about the chambers replacing the furniture.

He left them be and went to the Queen's chambers, hoping that his family members would be there.

"Ah! There he is!" he looked up and saw Frerin standing by the door to their mother's chambers.

Thorin smiled at his youngest brother as he rushed to him hugging him happily. "Glad to see you in one piece, brother." He patted him on his back before releasing him and turned his attention into the room.

He saw his whole family inside and was overcome with emotion; they were all right.

His father, mother, Frerin, little Dis, his cousins were sitting down in the living room quarters, looking at him with encouraging smiles.

Nur came to him and hugged him hard, "Thorin, my dearest! I'm so glad you're all right! I have been so worried about you since you left us. You and Lee…how is she?" She looked perturbed.

Thorin nodded sadly, "She is sleeping right this moment, and Madam Nifir is sitting with her. I think she will get better."

"Son," Thrain began. "You and your cousins have done a commendable job protecting the Durin's name. I thank you." He came over and hugged his eldest son.

"Father, we couldn't have done it without Lee's help," Thorin said.

Oin stood up, "He is right, your Majesty. Lee helped us tremendously. Without her, we would not have gotten this far."

"Oin is right, your Majesty," Balin said. "We wouldn't have figured who the traitors in the palace as well as Mored not being a Nogrod at all."

Gloin and Dwalin, who was holding Dis in his arms uncomfortably and nervously, had also stood up and nodded their heads in agreement.

Thrain held his hands up, "Wait a moment, I agree with you all, without Lee, we would not even know the gold and the Stone had been here all along. She is really one of a kind. A true gem and a rare diamond." And then he smiled at them and added, "And she is now the new Queen of Nogrods." He announced happily.

"WHAT?"

They all exclaimed as they looked at each other.

"Father, by right Crimm is the oldest, he is the rightful King of Nogrods." Thorin said.

"Yes, and no…I talked to Crimm earlier. He did not want anything to do with it. He had relinquished all claims to the Nogrod Kingdom and its ruling rights. And as ThoraLee is the oldest of the twins, the crown goes to her. He had no problem with it so ThoraLee is now rightfully the Queen of the Nogrods."

Balin was the first to laugh, then Dwalin, followed by Oin and Gloin and Frerin. Nur who was looking at them as if they had gotten knocked in their heads too hard too many times also began to laugh. Dis upon seeing them laughed decided to do so herself making them laugh more.

Thorin smiled wide, feeling even prouder of his wife now, who had come so far from being just a young impish maiden to a secretly married woman and now…a queen!

Well, his queen is now sleeping soundly in her soft bed safely and soundly.

Wait till she learned of her new status!

He wondered if she would scream or laugh hysterically, probably both.

Thinking of her earlier actions, of her aggressive actions when she killed Mored cold bloodedly, he found that it really excited him.

He had never seen a female dwarf acted like that! And she was his!

A low growl rumbled from within him and he wished he was with Lee at this moment!

"Thorin?" His mother looked at his flushed face. "Are you all right?"

He nodded, "Yes mother."

Then he turned to his father, "What are the plans for Erimm's funeral?"

"It will be according to Lee's and Crimm's wishes. A funeral fit for a royal, for a Prince, I would think."

Thorin shook his head, "They would want a simple funeral, for a simple metal smither."

His cousins nodded.

Thrain shook his head, "It will be as their wished my son."

Thorin inclined his head at his father, "I'm going to check on Lee. I'll see you tonight."

.

As soon as he came back to their rooms, Nifir informed Thorin that Lee had not stirred, that she had slept through the duration. Thorin thanked her gratefully as she bade him a good eve and left for the evening.

He climbed into the bed and gathered her to him, she turned to face him and buried herself into his neck and beard as she whispered sleepily, "Is everyone safe and well?"

"Yes, everyone is."

She nodded as she reached up to him and with her hands, she brought his head down to her and kissed him slowly.

"Lee…"Thorin looked at her, he felt very deep urgings stirring within him but he didn't want to pressure her.

"I want you…" she returned his looks with certainty as her eyes began to darken.

Thorin smiled at her, "I love you very much rúzín," he bent to kiss her deeply, his eyes darkening to match her one green eye.

"And I love you my Khazad-zukin," she returned his kisses…

….

End of Chapter 31


	32. Chapter 33

**Just want to thank Dinogeek for the neat reviews to this story! Awesome! And not forgetting, to the others who favorite, added, and alerted this to their list!**

**On with it!**

Coming Of Age – Chapter 32

.

ThoraLee opened her eyes and looked out the tall windows outside her room, dawn was approaching, another day was breaking.

Images of the previous day came flooding in her mind, unbidden tears leaked from her eyes as she continued to stare outward but she was not seeing what is out there, she was thinking of her beloved father. Another set of images overtook the ugly ones of yesterday, these were happy ones, they were all of her father when they were younger, Jora and her were still little, so many laughter, so many happiness…

Thorin grunted in his sleep broke her happy memories as she came back to the present and watched him turned over so now his bare back was facing her.

Sleep eluded her as she slipped out of bed and dressed quietly. She wrote quickly on a piece of paper and placed it on her pillow and slipped out of the room silently.

Lee headed to the stables and prepared Grakarbor's saddles and reins. Soon, she was riding out of Erebor and towards Dale.

By the time she reached her home, the morning sun had just peeked out of its horizon.

As always she looked up at the small chimney above the workshop behind the house; it was not lit.

A small panic rose within her as she thought; _not again!_

But she remembered what Thorin had told her of her Uncle's condition; he would be in no fit state to fire the small forge this morning, his wounds were too severe…

Besides, it was still quite early, he might be still abed.

She opened the door and walked in, breathing in the familiar scent that was her home and felt deep pangs of missing her father; the realization of never seeing him ever again was hitting her hard as she stood before the main door and looked in, recalling that day when she was in her first dress, the one with the ridiculously large sleeves for her Coming of Age party. How she had fussed about it and her father had laughed at her. And Jor with his fitted shirt teasing her and those oversized sleeves. It seemed so long ago! But in truth, it was only a few months' since…

"Who's there? Lee? Is that you?"

Lee heard her Uncle's raspy voice called out from the bedroom, his voice sounded weakened and …labored!

She hurried towards the room and saw him lying in the bed, looking so small, so alone!

"Uncle!" She dashed up to him and gently hugged him. "I'm here!"

"Hey!" He lifted his heavy lids and looked at her and smiled. "Why are you here?"

She smiled as she gingerly sat by him on the edge of the bed. "I missed you, and I wanted to see you."

He nodded weakly and said, "Where is that husband of yours? Does he know you are here?"

"I left him a note. Uncle, why did you come back here? Why didn't you stay at Erebor and let Master Oin look at your wounds?"

He shook his head, "These old bones are done for my dear. There is nothing Master Oin can do about it." He wheezed as he tried to breathe, his brows a shiny sheen of perspiration appearing.

"Uncle, please let us help you!" She pleaded.

"Lee, my time here is ending. Let me go see my father," his eyes were wet as he was not seeing her anymore.

"No Uncle. I want you here with me. You are my family."

"You have Jora. And besides, you are now a Nogrod as well as a Durin."

"Jor is so far away, you are all I have here, please stay with me, Uncle." She climbed into the bed and lay next to him.

"You are a good child, Lee. I am very proud of you. But it is my time to go join your father. Be a proud Nogrod. I love you Lee," his voice a faint whisper as his breathing slowed.

"I love you Uncle." Her tears continued to flow as they stopped talking, she held his hand.

…..

When Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Oin, and Gloin arrived at Erimm's house later that afternoon, they saw smoke billowing out of the chimney of the workshop.

They found Lee working in the workshop by herself. She was working at the forge.

She was working on gold which was soft and pliant when melted at a high temperature.

When the door opened, Lee looked up and saw Thorin's concerned face poking in so she waved at him assumingly and beckoned him into the room. It was then she also saw his cousins were with him as well as they all entered within, she smiled her welcome at them.

She put the tools down and walked up to them.

"Hello!" She smiled at them.

"Hello to you," Thorin said. "Your Uncle…"

She stopped smiling and nodded, "His wounds were too much." She said softly.

"I'm so sorry, Lee. Master Crimm was a great man." Balin said.

"Thank you, Master Balin. I will miss him much."

"Aye, lassie." Oin said solemnly.

"What are you working on, Lee?" Dwalin asked as he tried to peek over her shoulders to the forge.

She turned to the direction and walked to it, "Come and see for yourself."

They followed her and saw her work.

"Well, this is some work here indeed. The Nogrod insignia. For your father and your uncle?"

She nodded. "They will not have any crowns like kings or great swords as a warrior would have. They shall meet Aulë together with more than their daggers, and with these insignias on them, Aulë would know who they really are. That they are true Nogrods."

"Well said, Lee well said." Balin nodded.

"Hear! Hear!" They all shouted!

….

Erimm and Crimm were laid on two halves of a hollowed out oak trees, elegantly carved by the carpenters of Dale who were good friends of the two elderly dwarves. When they and the rest of the citizens found out about their passing, they felt great sorrow for they were very well liked. They laid them gently into the boat dressed in their simple brown shirt and pants, with black boots. Their hands were crossed and rested on their chests holding their daggers with elaborated etchings done by Lee. Right above it rested on their breasts were the gold necklace pendants Lee had made with the Nogrod insignia proudly displayed.

Everyone from Dale came to pay their last respect to Erimm and Crimm along the river and the beach.

What astonished them was the presence of the entire Royal family in attendance!

No words were spoken on this occasion as Lee looked on at the two boats where she watched her father and her Uncle seemingly lay asleep, they were to take their last voyage from this world to the next.

As the sun began to set, as the last ray held its last beam before it disappeared beneath behind the Lonely Mountains, Thrain and Thorin watching Lee who gave them a nod stepped forward and walked towards the boats. Thrain stepped behind Erimm's boat while Thorin behind Crimm's and together they pushed the boats off until the bottom caught on with the current and they began to glide towards the direction where the lake ends and the river began as it meandered down past Dale, past Erebor and into the great sea.

Thrain nodded to his two archers who had their arrows ready with fire at its tips.

They raised their bows up in unison and released the arrows into the air where they landed separately into the boats, soon the boats were engulfed by fire as it continued its watery journey.

As Lee watched she heard something; it was singing!

She looked at Thorin who had heard it too and was looking around. Then they saw people pointing across the lake and looked in the direction.

It was Eluin and the wood elves. But to their surprise, there were over 50 elves gathered over there!

When they were with the elves a few days ago, there were only about ten to fifteen. _Where did they come from?_

"Eluin is the leader of the Anduin Wood Elves of the Lonely Mountains. The elves had grown much since I was brought up when I was little."

Gloin asked her what they were singing as the language was apparently in Elvish.

Lee explained to him. "They are singing a mourning song, a requiem for the passing of life or lives into another world where they will be received with welcoming arms of their ancestors."

After a moment, she continued, "They are now mourning for my Uncle who was Uncrowned in this life but in the new life, he will be King. The people, his people will receive him and embraced him, giving him honor as a King will be honored, and my father will be honored by his side."

As the boat carrying Crimm passed the Elves, they bowed low in respect and honor.

Lee, Thorin and his cousins, as well as the rest of the Durin family did likewise, bowing low as the boats passed them as they flowed past. The Dale citizens bowed as they saw their King bowed, not knowing the true reason…and they never would.0

When they straightened up, the boats had turned around the bend and were now out of their sights.

The singing had ended, the elves began to depart one by one, they disappeared from view, Eluin being the last one to go.

The people from Dale also began to leave, heading back home as darkness fell.

The royal family with their guards also prepared their departure as they mounted their ponies when they heard a fast clopping of hooves approaching on the dirt road.

They stepped away from the road and into the grass just in case whoever the rider was didn't have the time to stop, they didn't want to get run over.

It was dark so it was hard to see the hooded rider. But whoever he was had thankfully stopped before the Durin family as the now tired pony blew hot breath out as it shook its mane.

The rider came before Lee but Thorin moved close to her, as did his cousins in a protective stance.

"Lee?" The rider sounded familiar to her but it couldn't be?

"Jor?" Lee tried to gaze up at the rider.

He dismounted hurriedly and turned to face her as he pulled his hood back to reveal his face, "Lee! What is going on?" He glanced at everyone surrounding her. "Was that smoke I smelled?"

Snapping out of her stupor she gave a yelp as she ran the short distance and jumped into her twin's arm "JoraLee! You are a sight for sore eyes!" she cried out.

He stumbled as he tried to regain his balance while holding both of them, thanking Mahal that she was not heavily built like most female dwarves!

"Oof! Oi! Lee, um, yeah, it is good to see you too!" he pushed her off him after a while.

She straightened up and looked closely at her twin and grinned, "I see you're sprouting some man beard under your chin, Jor. Now, everyone can really tell us apart."

He returned her grin with an identical one as he rubbed his chin, "Yeah, I'm feeling much grown up now."

Thorin cleared his throat as he said to him, "It's good to see you, Jor." He extended his hand.

Jor nodded as he took it and shook it, "Likewise, your Highness."

Thorin arched a brow at him, "Just Thorin."

Jor nodded, "Thorin."

Lee turned around to see Thorin's cousins waiting as well as Thrain, Nur and Frerin. Dis was left behind in the palace at Erebor.

Nur quickly suggested to Lee that they waited till they all gotten to Erebor before she introduce her twin to everyone as it was dark out here with just torches lighting their way, Lee immediately agreed and asked Jor to ride with her and Thorin and his cousins.

Jor looked at them with consternation, he remembered Balin and Dwalin but Gloin and Oin were strangers to him and they looked quite intimidating with their stern looks, hesitated.

"Don't let their looks fool you, they are really harmless." Lee whispered to him."

Jor frowned as he nodded slowly and got back on his pony while Thorin made sure Lee got on Grakarbor before he mounted his and together they all rode forth to Erebor.

Jor saw how attentive Thorin was to Lee and wondered just how close they had gotten to be.

He had been gone for a few weeks and it seemed as if he was gone for a long while! And much had changed!

Lee was riding in the middle with him on the left and Thorin on her right. His cousins were following behind them.

Jor noticed Thorin was riding quite close to his sister and…_hang on…were they holding hands?_

His eyebrows shot up! The last time he saw them, they were tearing at each other's throats!

He slowed his pony and let them rode ahead of him while he waited on Balin and Dwalin to catch up, he certainly had some questions for them and he knew they would answer truthfully.

The two older dwarves saw Jor trailed behind and exchanged looks; how much should they tell him? How much did Lee wanted to tell him herself?

"We'll just tell him what he asked us to tell him, that's all." Balin said to his brother who nodded in agreement.

As Jor maneuvered his pony between them, he nodded his chin at the two in front of them and began, "What is the story with my sister and him?"

"The story?" Dwalin asked?

Jor glared at him, "You know what I mean, when I left, they were certainly not holding hands; more like trying to kill each other. What is going on? If you said they are a ...a…couple I won't believe you at all. I know Lee and she would not fallen for the likes of that hot tempered fellow, Prince or not."

Balin's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline as Dwalin began to choke on his laughter.

"What? Come on, speak up." Jor said as he began to feel impatient with them.

Balin held his hand up, "Ease up, young man. First of all, you have to really believe us when we tell you and um…hang on, are you armed?"

Jor narrowed his gaze at Balin as he nudged his pony closer to him, "I have a few swords in the bag. Why? What does that have to do with my sister and him?"

"Give them to me," Balin extended his hand out, palm up.

"Look, just tell me what is going on, I promise I won't hurt anyone…or will I?"

"Just give me the weapons." Balin insisted.

Jor frowned as he bent down and retrieved his swords from the bags by the saddle and took out six swords and handed them to.

Balin swallowed hard as he looked at the amount weapons and he was glad he asked for them as he glanced over to Thorin!

Then he looked down and happened to see a glint at in his boot…

"Your dagger, Jor." Balin pointed at his leg in the stirrup.

Jor arched his brow as he was about to ask him how he knew about his dagger but then he just shook his head and stacked his dagger on top of his swords.

"Hmm, well yes all right now. Here's the thing, Jora...your sister is wedded to our cousin Thorin."

Jor was speechless at first as he gazed at Balin then at Dwalin who nodded enthusiastically.

"She wouldn't! She hates him!" He muttered to himself at first then as anger slowly built from within his eyes began to grow bigger and bigger as he became louder and louder.

"She wouldn't!"He repeated, this time more forcefully and louder.

"Now, look here, this is her choice and she is very much in love with him and he is too. They really do make an excellent couple, if you ask me."Balin tried to reason with Jor as they tried to keep up with his pace.

"I think he seduced my sister! He is too old for her! Look at the length of his beard, how old is he? 50? 60? Lee is only 21! A babe in the woods! Seducer! I will teach him not to…give me my swords back Master Balin!" Jor glared at him.

Balin clutched the weapons tightly to his chest mindful of the sharp blades as he tried to move his pony away from Jor.

"Very well, my dagger then." Jor tried to lean over but Balin moved further more as Dwalin leaned out to catch the reins of Jor's pony to prevent him from nearing his brother.

"Stay away from Balin, young man!" Dwalin called out but Jor tried to shake the reins from Dwalin and they began to argue heatedly.

Lee and Thorin turned around when they heard the commotion and saw the three of them struggling in their ponies.

As it was dark, it was hard to make out what was happening so they turned their ponies around and rode back to them.

"What is going on?" Thorin said in his raised voice.

They all stopped struggling as Jor glared at Thorin, "YOU! You are what is going on, seducer!"

"JoraLee!" Lee exclaimed loudly at him. "What are you talking about?"

Pointing at him, "Why did you marry him? Did he force you to do it? Wait a moment, are you…" he stared at her stomach in a disgusted way and back at Thorin. "You are too old for my sister!"

"What are you talking about Jor?"

"You got her in that…that way, didn't you? You forced her!"

"JoraLee! Enough!" Lee rode up to her twin and punched him square in his nose and knocked him out cold as he slumped over his pony.

Rubbing her fist, she turned to Balin and Dwalin who looked completely guilty, "What started this?"

They pointed at each other at the same time.

Lee pursed her lips when she saw Balin with the weapons, "What did you tell him?"

Balin nodded, "He saw the two of you holding hands and asked."

"And?"Thorin demanded as he held her bruised hand tenderly.

Balin shrugged, "That you two were wedded."

"And he didn't take the news too well, was quite violent about it in fact. Was a good thing Balin had the foresight to take his weapons. He could have hurt you Thorin! " Dwalin nodded at the armful of swords in his brother's hands

Oin and Gloin who had rode up to them when the commotion began, picked up one of the sword and hefted it, "Nice sword, very sturdy," Oin said as he began to slash it by his side, testing the its agility.

Gloin also picked another and did likewise, " Indeed, fine sword. Did that lad made this?"

Balin nodded, "His specialty. In fact the whole family is quite talented with this specialty with sword making."

Oin and Gloin nodded, "Must be a Nogrod talent as well."

"Must be"

"Ahem," Lee was watching them with raised brow. "I'm still here, in case you had forgotten."

Luckily for them, she couldn't see their reddened faces in the dark and thankfully they had arrived at the gates of Erebor.

Jor was stirring at the moment when they dismounted, "Lee, where are we?" He was rubbing his face as he looked about him.

"The stables. Come on, Jor. We are meeting with the King and Queen Nur." Lee handed the reins of Grakarbor to a young dwarf squire who received it happily and guided the aged pony back to his stall.

"The King and the Queen?"Jor repeated.

"Yes, there are many things to talk about that concern you as well but we are to dine first. Move it!" She gave him a shove out of the stables as the dwarves were waiting for them. Jor was eyeing angrily at Thorin.

Lee leaned close to her twin, "Listen Jor, do not be angry at Thorin. He is my husband now. I love him and no, he did not force himself on me," then she smiled at her twin as she patted his scruffy beard, "Besides, I lay a claim on him first, so you could say _I_ married him, not the other way around." She smiled as she walked on.

Jor narrowed his eyes at her as he shook his head; only his twin would pull a crazy stunt like that! He quickened his pace as he caught up with her and playfully shove at her shoulder causing her to stumble.

She giggled as she turned to him and shoved at him but he was able to dodge her. They both began to chase around Thorin and his cousins as they made their way to the palace.

Thorin eyed them as he shook his head and turned to look at his cousins who shrugged their shoulders as they let them be.

"They are still only 21 years old in truth, "Balin said in their defense.

"They are Queen and Prince Regent of the Nogrods." Thorin shook his head in disbelieve and when Lee caught his eye, she winked playfully at him as she gave Jor a hard push causing him to fall on the ground hard.

Balin and Dwalin stopped walking and helped him up, "I think play time is at an end for the both of you ere one of you really gets hurt!" Balin glared at her.

Lee stopped and walked beside Thorin, looking properly chastised as she was catching her breath, "Yes, Master Balin sir. But my brother owed me a few beatings, and I just collected a few."

"Seriously you two needed to be separated for the good of all of us!" Balin shook his head.

Jor came to walk beside him and laughed, "Our father had said that many times too!"

They all stopped walking and looked at Jor who was still laughing and walking until he realized they had stopped.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Lee looked sad suddenly stepped away from Thorin and moved next to Jor, "Come with me Jor, let's walk to the gardens."

"But I thought we are to have supper?" Jor pointed to the palace. The others had moved along again, separately from Lee and Jor.

"Lee, what is going on exactly?"Jor asked.

She led him to the gardens and set him by the stone benches where she knew they would have privacy.

She then began, "Jor, father and Uncle Crimm have passed into another life…the smoke you smelled earlier by the beach in Dale was the funeral you had just missed."

Jor was quiet as he sat looking at her, gauging her emotions.

"Is this one of your tricks Lee? If it is, it is not funny, not one bit." Jor said quietly.

Lee shook her head, "No tricks, no pranks Jor. Father was killed, as was Uncle Crimm…only he died of his injuries."

"Who? Who would kill our father? Lee, what is going on here? When I left Dale, you were entrusted to take care of our father. Instead, you had gone and married that Prince!" He spat angrily at her as he stood up.

Lee snapped her head at him, "No! It was nothing like that! Sit down and listen to me."

"I'm going to kill him!"

"No! Jor, if you lay a hand on Thorin, you will be killing me as well."

He turned to look at her, "Why are you protecting him? What has he got on you? Some kind of spell? Is he a...a…wizard of sort as well as dwarf?"

Lee shook her head in anguish, "No, just someone I love very much. Please Jor, sit down and listen to me. I have so much to tell you. You don't know half of everything. That...that...we are not who we thought we are."

Jor frowned, "What do you mean? You're speaking in riddles sister."

"Sit, and all will be explained to you." She patted at the space next to her.

With an exasperated sound, he sat by her.

Lee nodded as she began her tale, beginning with the translation of the text script to the discovery of the Durin gold and the Arkenstone, Eluin's tale of their grandmother's death and the birth of the twin, of their father and their aunt's unfortunate death, the traitorous betrayal of Gul Mored, their father's death and her revenge, Uncle Crimm's death and who the real Nogrods were.

Much later, when she was through, Lee sat back and let Jor absorbed her tale, her words.

He was shaking his head in disbelief, "A Nogrod? Me? You? Us? Impossible…" he muttered to himself.

Lee than gave him the Nogrod ring their Uncle Crimm had given her upon his passing. Jor looked at it, "So it is real." She showed him hers, as she was wearing their father's.  
"Wait, you are the oldest, shouldn't you be the Queen?" he asked her.

She shook her head, "I'm a Durin now. And I have no desire to be a Queen. You'll make a much better King than I a Queen, Jor."

"But I don't know anything about being a King!" His eyes were big as saucers!

She laughed, "I think his Majesty King Thrain will be more than thrilled to assist you."

Jor scratched the back of his head boyishly, "Yeah, didn't think about that."

Then he looked at her and leaned forward until his forehead touched hers, "Will you forgive me for being utterly an idiot? For accusing your Thorin as a seducer."

Lee laughed, "Certainly. I did agree with you, he is quite old though. Not as old as you think, he is only 34 years old."

"Oh, only 34, I thought about 60."

"60! Jor!" Then they laughed together as they hugged each other tightly.

"I miss father. And Uncle Crimm." He said.

"As do I. But they had led a wonderful life each and now father is with mother and Uncle Crimm…and his twin sister our aunt, and Grandfather and Grandfather."

Jor nodded, "And the rightful Nogrod ancestors." He slipped the ring into his finger and held it out, Lee held hers next to his, and as one they exclaimed, "Nukgruds!" in Khuzdul.

.

…

End of Chapter 32


	33. Chapter 34

Coming Of Age – Chapter 34

.

The next morning Thorin and ThoraLee were sitting with the King and the Queen in the Dining Halls breaking fast with them.

"Thorin, is something the matter with your mouth?" Nur was looking over at his son.

Thorin shook his head.

He was covering his right cheek with his palm as he was eating with his left hand.

Lee kept her head down cast but she was wearing a small grin.

"Thorin…?"

"I'm fine mother." He muttered shortly.

Nur looked at her son again, then at Lee but she didn't say anything else anymore as she began eating quietly.

It was a while Thrain noticed something was not right.

"Where is everyone? Where are those cousins of yours? It's not like them to miss breakfast and Frerin, where could that lazy bones be?"

Lee looked up and said, "Jor is usually an early riser, where is he?"

One of the servants who was standing near the dining table stepped forward and said with his head bowed, "Your Majesty, Your Highness…er…Prince Frerin and your brother..er..they are outside in the gardens asleep currently."

"WHAT?" Lee exclaimed as they all stood up suddenly.

The servant backed off hurriedly as he said, "They came back early this morn…and didn't make it to their rooms. So they slept off in the garden grounds."

They all began to hurry off out of the Dining Halls and to the gardens.

They found Frerin lying on his side over Nur's prized flowers which were all flattened without a single stitch of clothing on him.

Jor was stretched over the stone bench, missing both his boots and his pants but someone had the decency to cover his manhood with a lady's lacy kerchief.

Nur and Lee were blushing as they quickly averted their gazes. "My poor flowers! Completely ruined!" Nur kept muttering

Thrain was incensed when he saw his youngest son lying prone and bare of clothing.

Thorin was guffawing out loud, Thrain tried to glare at him but it was of no use.

Suddenly, they turned around when they heard a lot of running and saw their cousins coming down the stone steps from the palace.

As they stood in front of the angry king, they tried not to look guilty.

But Thrain knew better.

"Is this one of your pranks?" he pointed at the two young dwarves.

The cousins did not answer as they stood in a row. Thorin saw Oin holding someone's article of clothing and Balin was holding two pairs of boots.

"Lee, I think we shall let Thrain handle this…matter." Nur grabbed her arm as they hurriedly off inside the palace but she stopped in front of Thorin when she saw his face.

"Great Mahal! Did you wrestle with an orc…?"

"Let's go, Mother…" Lee's embarrassed face glanced laughingly at Thorin's surprised one before she ushered the queen quickly inside.

Nur looked at her daughter-in-law, "Lee, I do wonder about you sometimes…Were you really brought up by elves or by orcs?"

Lee laughed out loud, "Your Majesty! The wood elves had nothing to do with what Thorin brought the worse out of me! Come, I'm sure my little sister is awakening by now and needs her morning meal!"

….

"Wake them up and…get them dressed!" Thrain glared at Balin, as he was the oldest of the four.

They hurriedly went to the young men.

Oin was bending down on one knee by Frerin as he shook his shoulder, "Come on Frerin! Get up now!"

The lad moaned in his half-sleep as he smiled, "Hmm…Sunshine…that you? Are you back for more?" He giggled as he made to grab Oin. "You were so lovely last night, so beautiful…I think I'm in love...come on, give me a good morning kiss…mmm!" He leaned in as he pulled Oin towards him and kissed his cousin in his mouth hard!

Oin's eyes were wide opened as he struggled to pull away from Frerin!

Gloin and the rest were stunned and began to laugh hard, even Thrain! After he had recovered from his shock.

Frerin grinned as he continued to open his eyes, "I must say you seemed a little hairy this morn, I guess you must shave every…" that was when his eyes were fully opened now and he saw Oin's stunned face staring back at him

"Oh my! NO!" Frerin began to scoot away from Oin as he shook his head, one hand busily scrubbing his mouth, "I didn't kiss you, did I?"

Oin nodded his head, face reddened.

"This is not happening to me! Where is Sunshine?" He began to look around and stopped short when he saw his father's angry face.

"Oh! He…Hello…Hello father, tis a lovely sunshiny morn, isn't it?" He smiled nervously at him.

It was then he looked down and saw that he was without clothes, nary a stitch.

"Well, I seemed to have misplaced my clo…" Oin tossed them down to him. "Oh, here they are! Thank you cousin Oin." He stood up and began to put them on hastily.

As Frerin was putting his clothes on, Dwalin went over to the stone bench and tried to rouse JoraLee who was softly snoring.

"Jor! Wake up! Come on!" Dwalin knew not to lean too close to him, he did not want to be kissed by Jor, mistake or not!

"Not yet, Precious…give me five more minute…I'll be ready again." Jor muttered.

"Jor! Get up!" Dwalin touched his hand and shook it but Jor smiled widely and captured Dwalin's hand as he groaned!

"Precious…such strong hand you have. Come my dear show me how you did it, how you made me very happy…" Jor pulled Dwalin's hand down and guided it down to where his private area was and Dwalin squeaked out so loudly it woke the younger dwarf who looked at him in a puzzle as to why Dwalin had his hand on his private …

"Master Dwalin? I…You're not Precious?" He looked about him and saw Thorin, Balin who were on their knees laughing as they were holding onto each other, Gloin and Oin were banging their fists on the grass hard as they laughed. Thrain's face was so red that he turned away from all of them and bent over with his hands on his thighs as he let his laughter out.

Frerin didn't laugh as he was busily throwing up the contents of his stomach by his mother's flower beds.

Oin finally was able to pass Jor's pants and boots as he tried to take several breaths while he wiped his eyes.

When Jor was finally dressed and booted properly, he was having the most horrendous head sore, so was Frerin.

Thrain made the young sad looking dwarves sat on the stone bench while the cousins stood behind them.

"This is very unacceptable! I had thought you, Balin and Dwalin, that you had learned your lesson from years ago when you pulled this one on Thorin!" He glared at the cousins.

"Now you too, Oin and Gloin!" Thrain continued. "Frerin and JoraLee are simply too young …wait." He turned back to Balin and Dwalin and stood in front of them. "Tell me you didn't take them to that blasted tavern?"

Balin and Dwalin, their heads down, nodded.

"Confounded it, you two!" He yelled at them. "I have told you to stay away from that wretch place!" Then he looked at his son's fingers, "Great Mahal! Where is his ring? He didn't give it to that wench at that tavern?" and then Thrain glanced over to Jor as well and saw that his hands were bare as well.

Thrain's eyes were red with anger as he glared angrily at them, veins on his neck were throbbing visibly as he pointed at the cousins, "Where is his rings? It had better be in safe or you four will be very sorry you ever step foot in that damn evil foul …" he couldn't find any adjectives to curse at the tavern but luckily for the cousins, or Thrain, well, for all involve for the matter, depending how you looked at it. Balin quickly produced the rings from his pockets and showed Thrain.

"We kept them safe for the young fellas before we left for the tavern, your Majesty." Balin said quickly.

Thrain narrowed his eyes at him as Balin began to move and stood behind Dwalin but Thrain did not say anything anymore.

"From tomorrow morn till it is done, all of you, including you Frerin will be moving the gold from under the palace to up into the unused rooms on the second floor.

"Second floor! That's a long way from under the grounds to the palace and…!" Balin began to calculate the distance it would take each trip and he stared at Thrain with his mouth flapping opening and closing.

Thrain arched a brow at him, "Worry not, Balin Thorin will be assisting you too as well as a few of the guards."

Thorin who had been quiet and grinning all this time, feeling good as he, for once was not in trouble, snapped his head and turned to face his father, "Why?"

"I'm putting you in charge of them. You will be responsible for Balin, Dwalin, Oin, Gloin, and your brother Frerin."

Thorin glared at his father, "Fine! Hang on, what about him?" He pointed at Jor whose eyes were closed, as well as Frerin's as they were both slumped against each other.

"He and ThoraLee are to begin their lessons with me at the library, every morn."

"What lessons?" He asked.

"They shall learn the affairs of running a kingdom. In the afternoon, they shall learn weapons training."

"Weapons training? Why? We are not to war?"

"No, Nogrods might, amongst themselves. I want them to be ready." Thrain reasoned.

Thorin nodded.

…

"I hope they are all right." ThoraLee fretted as she paced along the tall windows in the queen's quarters.

"I do wish you'd stop pacing about, Lee." Nur shook her head as she watched Dis crawling about on the rug, trying to follow Lee.

"They have been out there for quite a while, you don't think his Majesty buried them in your flower beds, did he?" Lee asked as she suddenly stopped walking and stared at Nur.

"Great Mahal! Thrain would certainly do no such thing, my dear!"

Then they heard the doors opened, Thrain walked in alone as he greeted the ladies.

"Are they well, your Majesty?" Lee asked in a worried voice.

Thrain nodded, "Your brother went to the tavern outside of Dale last eve with the cousins and Frerin well…he had quite a bit to drink. He is in the guest quarters abed."

Lee and Nur nodded gratefully.

"Lee, I have decided that you and Jor should start, tomorrow morn, that it would be best if you two learn the matters of the kingdom from me in the morn, every day. And in the afternoons, weapons training."

"Weapons training?" Nur exclaimed. "Why ever for?"

"When you return to your Kingdom, there might be unrest. There might even be attempts or challenges. I don't know but I want you two to be ready. I offer you my army when you are ready. Just the talent of your daggers is simply not enough, Lee. I wish for you to learn to fight with all manner of weapons used in battle, even archery."

Lee was looking excited as she was vastly interested in all things that involved weapons and fighting.

"What have you done to Frerin then?" Nur asked.

Thrain explained to his wife the new task he had given to his sons and cousins.

"Well, that is certainly an excellent lesson for them." Nur nodded. "They will be too tired to visit that tavern."

Thrain nodded, "That's the idea, my dear. It will keep the lot of them out of trouble."

Nur reached up and stroke his face intimately, Lee averted her gaze, giving them privacy.

"You poor dear, they have been such a trail to you since they were young."

"Aye, and to you, too, my dear. Sometimes, I wish they were all girls, I would have you deal with them."He shook his head.

Lee giggled with her head down as she imagined them as girls.

"Go ahead and laugh, Lee. When you have children of your own, you will know the trails of raising them." Thrain grinned.

Lee smiled, "I would like to have children…later…much later, your Majesty."

They laughed at her.

"I am not ready to be a mother yet." She said shyly.

"True, at the moment, you have a kingdom to learn." Thrain nodded as he bent to pick up his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Your Majesty." He glanced at Lee and smiled.

Lee inclined her head at him, Thrain started; for a moment, he thought he saw a regal queen standing before him and he felt he should bowed low to her with respect as he would for a royal person.

Then she smiled impishly at him and that moment was disappeared.

Thrain blinked a few times as he looked at her again but she looked like…ThoraLee, no longer that regal queen he had seen…

Thrain swallowed hard and chalked that up to his old age.

"Dadada…" Dis was calling to him as she giggled.

Thrain smiled widely, "Well now, that is my smart daughter! That is right, I am your father!" he kissed Dis lovingly on her cheek, causing her to laugh more. Dis placed her chubby hands around her father's face as Nur stood close to them, smiling.

Lee watched them, feeling intrusive as she stepped back leaving the parents and child enjoying their moment.

She imagined that one day in the far future this scene would be enacted with her and Thorin holding their child in his arms. A son.

She tried to imagine Thorin holding his own son proudly, carrying on the Durin line… but all she saw was…nothing…it was a darkened vision before her.

Lee quickly turned around to face the tall windows and looked out the mountains beyond Erebor.

The sight of the mountains had always calmed her as it always represented Thorin. Thorin's mountains...The Lonely Mountains was Thorin's mountains, his mountains as well as hers. Theirs.

Lee could not see their children in them…yet.

She worried; why couldn't she see them? Was this an omen?

She shook her head, she never believed in omens. Just like the falling stars she had seen before.

In truth, they scared her. They were unseen elements of her future…

Nay, not hers, Thorin's and hers. Theirs.

Her fingers twitched and felt the ring…the green diamond ring and she felt comforted.

The green diamond ring she would always related it with Thorin because Thorin had made the ring with his own hands.

She held it up and looked at it, the green was so brilliant that it looked like the color of his eyes when he was very happy and …in love!

Lee smiled to herself as she looked up and watched the gentle clouds floating atop the tips of the Lonely Mountains.

Thorin's Mountains…

.

End of Chapter 34


	34. Chapter 35

Coming Of Age – Chapter 35

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Later that afternoon, everyone gathered for an afternoon meal, Oin had given Frerin and Jor a brew for their head sores.

Feeling much better, Jor was able to come down and partake in the afternoon meal as he sat next to his twin.

"Goodness, what happened to your tiny beard?" Lee asked him.

"Don't want to talk about it, sis." Jor groused at her.

She laughed as she shook her head, "I guess it will grow back sometime next year!"

Jor gave her a push, almost knocking her out of her seat.

Lee laughed at him as she sat back in her seat.

Queen Nur came in and looked at Lee and Jor and gave a start as she kept gazing at them.

"Goodness!" She held her chest. "I …you two…I can't tell you two apart!"

Lee and Jor exchanged a grin.

The cousins looked at them and saw that Nur was right; unknowingly Lee and Jor were wearing the same colored shirt.

Thrain who was sitting at the far end of the table looked at them and pointed, "That is JoraLee."

Thorin shook his head, "Father, that is my wife. See her ear, she has a scar."

They all laughed.

"How did she obtain the scar?" Jor asked. "It was not there when I left."

"Long story short, we had a small accident with the dagger." Thorin explained quickly.

"Dagger? One of our daggers? Lee never missed." Jor shook his head.

So Thorin was compelled to explain to him about the accident with the accident.

Thrain shook his head when his son was done. "Why is it that when there is an accident with you Lee, there is a weapon involved? Especially those confounded dagger? What is so special about the daggers? May I see them?"

Thorin shook his head quickly as he tried to tell his father that it was a bad idea when two daggers wheezed by him in quick succession and thudded right in front of Thrain on the table, almost scaring the older dwarf to death as he quickly scooted his chair away from the table.

"Oi!" Thrain yelped.

"Lee! Jora!" Thorin yelled at them as he glared at his wife.

The twins grinned.

"I'm all right, just jolted my heart a bit, but I'm all right." Thrain's eyebrows remained above his forehead in astonishment as he pulled one of the daggers out and examined it. "This is exceptional work indeed, sharp, very sharp." He tested the blade and nodded approvingly.

"How many have you made?" He asked the twins.

"Jor and I have one each, Thorin, and the now each cousins have them. But we have a few more at home." Lee replied.

"And you keep them in your boot?'

She nodded.

"At all times?"

She nodded again.

Thrain stood up suddenly holding both daggers and walked to the doors and opened them.

"From this day forth, when we sit down to sup, we will not have any daggers or any other weapons here on my table. You will all bring forth and remove them and hand them here before the guards."

One by one, Thorin, Oin, Gloin, Balin and Dwalin surrendered their daggers to the guards who took their daggers from them nervously and placed them on a small wooden table by a wall before they closed the doors again.

"Serves you right for throwing them at my father!" Thorin teased Lee as he took a bite of bread from his plate.

Lee arched a brow at him and looked away from him without saying a word as she continued to eat. She was tempted to throw something at his smug face but she remembered to act mature as she observed the queen and the king, the cousins, her twin.

She was no longer a child.

She must remember that she was now a Queen Regent to her twin's King of Nogrod of Mount Demount. And so, she must act accordingly.

"Lee, are you all right?" She looked to see Thorin watching her with concern.

She nodded, "I'm fine." She grabbed his hand suddenly and gripped it as if he was her lifeline.

It all came crashing down on her all of a sudden; her new duties, this training Thrain wanted her and Jor to learn, this union with Thorin, the Durin family.

She felt as if she could not breathe! She looked about her;

Queen Nur, her mother in law who had been wonderful to her, like a mother. If her mother had been alive, she would have been just like Nur, and she and Nur would have gotten along famously.

Frerin, a younger brother who had taken an instant liking to Jor had become good friends.

Balin, a brother more than cousin, a confidante and an advisor, he had seen much more than her young life had. She would trust him without question, just like Thorin had.

Dwalin, another brother, she knew was someone whom she had come to know had a very compassionate soul but no doubt could be relied upon if help was needed.

Gloin, yet another brother she had come to trust and respect, she would gladly have in battle or be part of her new kingdom, he was wise and not afraid to speak his mind, one she knew he could advise her in court matters.

Oin, ah! He was someone she most wanted to be in her kingdom, a very skilled healer, a warrior. She knew she had hurt him deeply when Mored threatened her father using them but she had talked to him in private and they had made peace. She had told him she had not blamed him at all. She was not mad at him for disobeying her. He had done the right thing. She was thankful he had done the right thing. Oin was very glad for he was quite perturbed for a while, his heart was unsettled. Now they had remained for the longest time, the best of friends.

In fact, they all were, till the very end. They were brothers and sister. They were each other's confidante

"Lee?" Thorin had leaned near her when she held his hand tightly.

Lee felt at peace as she thought of her father and her Uncle Crimm; she knew they were gone and yet they were always there guiding her and Jor on the right path, and the safe path.

The Durin family was her safe path, the Nogrod the right path.

The Durin family was there to keep her and Jor safe.

She looked at Thorin and smiled, "Everything is all right, Khazad-zukin."

The Nogrod, well, they were now the rightful path to Jor's kingdom, his heritage. Soon he will claim his rights. Now, he had much to learn. And King Thrain of Durin was perfect to guide him.

Thrain was like a father to her now. Lee knew she could go to him if she had any queries of matters of the kingdom, Thrain was vastly knowledgeable in the affairs of the kingdom and this she was glad.

He allowed the twins the use of the Durin Library. They were to be studying in the morn while Thorin and his cousins worked on removing the gold from under the palace.

Thrain was with them every step, guiding them, there were many questions, and he answered as many as he could.

The twins had proved a delight to teach for the absorbed the learnings quickly.

Thrain was impressed with them as they earnestly applied themselves and were quite smart as well, he began to love them as if they were his own for in truth they were orphans and still quite young.

In the afternoons, they met in the fields beyond the palace and gardens. It was a large clearing where the dwarves come out for practice with their weapons.

Today, they were to practice with the long sword.

Gloin was the most proficient with this weapon so he was chosen to teach Lee and Jor how to use it.

Thorin and the others were there to assist.

Lee did not like the long sword for it was quite heavy for her. When Gloin hit the sword she was holding, it came off her hand.

"You must grip it harder, Lee." He advised her.

"I am Gloin! Quit smacking it out of my hand, you did it deliberately!"

"No I did not!"

She threw her sword down on the grass and pushed him down the grass, "There! How do you like that!"

"Lee!"Thorin exclaimed as he approached her. "You can't do that! Gloin is just trying to show you. Pick the sword up and do it again." He then walked away.

"I don't like that sword! It is too heavy! I can't weld it." She blew out in frustration as she glared after the back of her husband angrily.

Gloin who had gotten up, picked her sword and said patiently, "Look, heft it around, swing about it…I know you are mad…um, just think it's Thorin you're about to whack at, that you are very mad at this moment! Just try it again." He said patiently.

Lee nodded and hefted the sword and adjusted the grip so that it felt comfortable in her palm and began to swing around, then she began to swing long arches over her head.

"Lee, watch the swing…"Gloin was observing her as well as Jor as he and Frerin were parrying with each other.

They were doing a much better job than Lee.

Lee turned to listen to Gloin just as he said 'swing' when she lost control of her grip of the sword in mid-air.

Lee screamed out, "Watch out!"

They all turned to look at her as she pointed at her flying sword but they saw the sword sailing down towards Thorin and hit him on his head, luckily the pommel end of the sword struck him.

A loud thud and he fell hard on the ground and was knocked out cold instantly.

"Thorin!" She screamed again as she ran towards him, fearing she had killed him, her heart thudding loudly.

By the time she reached him, Oin was there already, as well as a huge lump growing out of his forehead.

"Is he?" She was crying as she held his hand.

The others had surrounded him too by then as they muttered amongst themselves, looking on with concern.

Oin shook his head, "He is knocked out, luckily for you. What were you doing anyways?"

"I…I…was getting use to the sword, just like Gloin said to do, and I lost the grip and it flew out of my hand," she waved her hand wildly about her. The cousins and Frerin scooted away from her in a hurry to avoid her just in case.

"Is he going to be all right…?" She looked at Oin with tears in her eyes.

As if answering her, Thorin groaned out loud, "Ohh.." he blinked as he tried to opened his eyes, "Wha…wha…my head." He moved his hand and touched the big lump and groaned even more. "Tell me this is not Lee's work."

"I'm so sorry Thorin!" She cried as she put her head on his chest and sobbed.

He put his hand on her, "Tis all right…just stay away from me…head hurts…"

"Would be if I have that big giant goose egg on your forehead!" Frerin laughed. Dwalin gave him a hard push causing him to fall on the grass but Frerin was laughing so hard he didn't mind at all.

Gloin glared at him, "All right Jora, take him out there, you two can keep on practicing till we say you're through."

Jor nodded and ran out into the clearing, Frerin running after him and soon the clanging of swords sounded.

Oin laid Thorin on the grass, "I'm sure he didn't mean it…when he wakes up, he won't remember what he said. We'll just leave him here, sleep and rest, he'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't we move him back to his room?" Lee asked.

"Nay, let him breathe some fresh air." Oin began to move off from him.

"I'll stay with him, then." Lee said, her voice still worried.

Gloin shook his head, "No, you are coming with us. We'll get you a lighter sword, Lee. He'll be fine."

Lee stood up and looked down on her husband and reluctantly left him and followed them.

…..

Later at the Dining Halls…

"Dare I ask?" Thrain looked at Thorin battered face with an arched brow.

Nur shook her head as she looked at Lee's reddened face, she knew without a doubt that Lee had something to do with her son's condition.

"The long sword was a little too heavy for Lee, your Majesty." Gloin explained to the King.

Thrain looked at him expectantly

"So we gave her the short sword," he took a quick drink from his mug.

"The short sword, I did wonder when I found it sticking on the grass between my legs, very close to my nether region." Thorin said calmly. He picked up his wine and raised it to Lee and drank.

Nur almost choked on her wine, "Great Mahal! Perhaps we should stick with the dagger, Lee. At this rate, Thorin might not live through the entire training or maybe you should stay indoors dear."

"Your Majesty!" Lee exclaimed with embarrassment, he face redder than earlier.

The cousins were laughing deeply, shoulders shaking hard.

"Maybe I should give up this weapons training altogether!" Lee cast her head down. "I'm completely hopeless."

The cousins stopped laughing completely as they began to shake their heads.

"Not at all Lee! Look at you with our dagger!" Balin said.

"Absolutely, so accurate with it, I'm not quite good with it." Dwalin shook his head.

"So much better than I am! I'm all thumbs with it!" Gloin agreed with Dwalin.

"Deadly," Oin said.

Lee looked at them as they nodded assuringly at her.

"Lee, today is just the first day, you're not expected to be efficient on your first time." Thorin tried to console her as well.

"Thorin is right, I was not good with the axe, and it is much heavier than the long sword, Lee." Frerin said smiling at her. "It takes much practice. And much muscle to built on the arm."

She smiled back at him, feeling much better.

"You won't be welding the axe, Lee." Gloin said.

"Yes I am," she said. "If I am going to learn, I want to learn all of it. I just need to strengthen my arms."

"Be that as it may, I don't want to be wedded to a woman with much more muscular arms than I have," Thorin said as he eyed at her.

She was about to argue with him when she realized that he was teasing her, she couldn't resist when she picked up a piece of bread and tossed it over to him which he caught it smartly with his hand.

She smiled as she looked at him then he was not looking at her but behind her when she felt a several pieces of bread pelted on her head.

"Oi! All of you!"Thrain was yelling at them. "You know better! Or you'll be going to your room without…oh goodness what's the use…you're all grownups." He sat down and began eating, shaking his head.

They all laughed as they stopped pelting at each other and began eating as well.

"At least the big bump doesn't seem to stand out like those scratches on your faces," Nur pointed.

"Say, I have been meaning to ask you Thorin," Balin asked. "Where did you get those scratches anyways?"

Thorin shook his head as he leaned back on his seat and looked over to Lee and arched a brow and made a claw motion with his hand behind her view.

Balin narrowed his gaze, "You were being clawed by a warg? Is that what you are trying to say?"

Thorin rolled his eyes up and shook his head.

"I don't understand, Thorin. What happened then?" Balin persisted. "We were at the tavern last eve, and we didn't hear about a warg…was it huge? Lots of claws?"

Lee almost choked on her food this time as Thorin leaned forward and patted on her back gently. Lee batted his hand away.

Finally, Lee couldn't hold it any longer and said, "Not that it mattered but Thorin and I had a little…difference of opinion last eve that resulted in a very harsh argument that led to a scuffle and it ended with a few lacerations on his part and among other resulting answers"

Gloin shook his head and was thoroughly puzzled, "Did you mean both of you had a fight, and Thorin ended up being scratched but something else happened?"

She nodded.

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Balin nodded. "No need to talk about it in a roundabout way and …oh…OH! I see!" Balin's face began to reddened!

Gloin also reddened instantly as his brother began laughing as well as Dwalin. Although Gloin muttered under his breath as he grinned, "Never knew you had that in you, Lee."

Thorin shook his head as Lee put her head down with embarrassment.

Thrain and Nur smiled widely with understanding.

Thankfully, Jor and Frerin looked on in confusion.

….

End of Chapter 35


	35. Chapter 36

Coming Of Age – Chapter 36

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Fortunately for Thorin, there weren't any more accidents for him from Lee during weapons training. Of course, he made sure he was staying far from her, as were the others as well.

Gloin was the only brave one that stayed and worked with her.

Lee was determined to improve on the short sword and slowly she was able keep up with her foot work and parried with Gloin who was a hard task master.

"Very good Lee, very good. Now, I want you to go one on one with…Dwalin." Gloin said.

Lee looked and said, "But he is quite bigger than I am."

Gloin, "If you confront the men of Nogrods, they might be bigger than Dwalin. You must be prepared."

She nodded.

"Dwalin!" Gloin called out to his cousin as he waved to him over.

Dwalin jogged over to them and soon Gloin explained what he wanted him to do.

They then began as they stood about five feet apart facing each other.

"Begin!"

The studied each other's stance and began to move to their sleft and Dwalin attacked first, swinging his sword at her.

Lee brought her sword up to defend herself as she batted his sword out of the way.

"Good one Lee! Now try to work on your offense!" Gloin advised. "Always think what your next two moves should be before you strike. Be prepared to defend as well."

Lee frowned as she tried to absorb all his advises.

Just like moving strategy, in war, always be two steps ahead your enemy. Where they would be moving…

"Lee! Watch it!"

Dwalin suddenly made to strike her close to her face but she was quick on her reflex as she leaned back and able to bring up her sword in front of her face and managed to dodge Dwalin's sword and batted it out of her.

"Oh my! Lee!" Dwalin exclaimed as he came to her, his eyes closed for a moment then opened again. "I almost took out your entire face!" He was breathing hard.

Lee was grinning as she patted his back, "Nay my friend, you'll have to try a little harder."

He nodded, "I think I needed a drink!"

Lee laughed, "All right, I'll find someone else, go rest."

Dwalin just flopped down on the grass and laid flat.

She shook her head.

"My turn." She looked behind her and saw Thorin.

"Fine, you won't be easy on me, will you?" She grinned at him.

"Not a chance. On the field, we are equals."

"You're on." She nodded.

They backed away from each other until they were about five feet, then with a slight nod, she stepped to her right but Thorin didn't move as he watched her, his sword resting down on the side of his leg.

Dwalin having seen their looks, got up in a hurry and stood away from them.

Soon they drew the attention of the rest of them as they began to place bets.

Jor who did not know Thorin well, "Is he fairly good?" posed the question to his brother.

Frerin grinned, "Never lost a sword fight in his life."

Jor betted on his sister, "Neither has my sister."

"But she had never welded a sword in her life!" Frerin stare at him.

"It's not the strength or the skills sometimes that wins the fight, it's the strategy that helps." He continues to grin.

"Well, I'm still going with my brother."

Jor nodded, "Have it your way."

The cousins saw the way the two young men discussed, Gloin especially and watched her more intently at the way she moved about.

Lee was staring at Thorin unsmiling, as was Thorin as they were studying each other's movements.

"Come on," Balin said. "This is no dance party here!" He was cajoling them.

Lee smiled as she saw a twinkle in Thorin's eyes.

"So Lee," Thorin suddenly spoke. Startling everyone but her. "Answer me one question, what would you do if there was a coup in your kingdom?"

Lee thought for a moment before she answered, "I would offer a sit-down and discuss." She stealthily took a small step forward.

Thorin smiled as he shook his head, as he pointed to her feet, "Good, sit down is good start. If it does not work?" He moved a little to his right.

"I'll find a way to infiltrate the traitors, send my army and surround them and take over these traitors and then hang them all." She said as she followed his move quietly.

"Really," Gloin was getting impatient. "All these talks are getting boring, hurry up!"

Lee smiled at Gloin, "My training Master seems to be impatient here, what should we do, my dear?"

Thorin shook his head, "I'll let you strike first…being that I'm a gentleman."

Lee frowned, "Thorin, let's not start with that again."

He suddenly jumped on her and raising his sword to bat at her but she saw his intent and was quicker on her reflex as she jumped backwards and raised her sword to defend his strike.

"Whoa!" Gloin uttered out loud, he thought Thorin had struck her. "Didn't see that one, Thorin. Good one! But Lee was faster!"

"Nice one Lee!" Jor cheered

She didn't reply as he came back from striking below her, again she managed to parry off him.

He was not going easy on her, she saw that.

_Time for offensive move!_ Lee thought.

She raised her sword and swung at him at his shoulder, and managed to strike him as she caught him unawares!

"Oooh'ed' they exclaimed as he jolted back from her blade.

He glared at her but didn't say a word.

She raised a brow at him as he stopped moving and stood still again.

"Giving up?" She asked.

He shook his head, "Not a chance."

"Good."

Before she could finish he struck again but she always managed to deflect his moves.

For the next few minutes, like a dance move, they parried and batted continuously at each other until Thorin sensed Lee beginning to tired, slid his blade all the way down to the bottom of the handle and flicked it off her hand, sending her sword out of her grasp. Her sword landed on the grass with a thud.

The dwarves who betted against him groaned as the others smiled widely.

Thorin stabbed his sword down on the grass by her and held his hand, "Yield?"

Lee smiled as she nodded, "Not a chance!" and quickly swiped his sword, turned around and kicked the back of his knees, causing him to fall on his knees.

She held his sword, now in her hand and pointed at his cheek as she wrapped the other hand around his neck tightly and said, "Do YOU yield?"

Thorin laughed as he said, "I thought you were tiring?"

"Tis a ruse, Thorin, never believe what your foe's eyes tell you."

He chuckled, "I'll remember it, my dear, you have me fooled. Well done."

Now the former winning dwarves groaned as the former losing cheered and laughed as they extended their hands out for their winnings.

Thorin felt her losing her hold on him as well as the tip on the sword so he batted the sword away from her, it flew out of her hand as he flipped her around, she landed on her back on the grass. She looked up at him laughingly.

The dwarves saw her down, and looked at each other, and yelled, "A tie! It's a tie!" They began to smack each other's back as they laughed until they saw what Thorin and Lee were about to do…and groaned out loud…

He bent down and leaned in to kiss her.

"You were wonderful," he smiled at her as he whispered to her.

"So were you and if they ever found out you let me win, you'll be in big trouble!" She laughed.

"I know, so it will be our secret, only." He wriggled his brows a few times and she giggled more.'

"Oi! We're heading back …so if you two want to …you know…ahem…you have all afternoon…take your time!" Frerin yelled as he laughed as they moved on.

"Come on Frerin, nothing to look at!" Balin said hurriedly.

"We practiced on that field every day, you know!" Gloin said grumpily as their voices faded away…

Thorin looked over to them as he watched them disappear over the clearing.

"Are they gone?" Lee asked.

Thorin looked down on her and grinned, "Can't see them anymore."

"We're alone, Khazad-zukin."

"Yes, rúzín, all alone." She smiled as she saw his eyes changing to dark sapphire blue as she felt deep urgings within the bottom of her stomach.

He leaned down and kissed her deeply, she responded to his kisses urgently.

As the sun was setting, they were lying facing the sky, wrapped in each other's arms.

"I have a question I've been meaning to ask you for some time. It is a personal question, you don't have to answer if you don't want to." Thorin said.

Lee nodded sleepily, "Go ahead, I'll answer whatever you want to know."

He paused for a moment, "This is about your father and Crimm,"

"Thorin, ask me. I'll be fine."

"Okay...let's see how can I put it? The funeral, I just want to know why didn't you bury them like all dwarves would have? I mean, my ancestors did, and that is what I want for myself. But you didn't, you chose the way of elves and men."

Lee sat up and turned to face him, "My father is not a miner, Thorin. And Uncle Crimm might have mined in the past but he had given up that life a long time ago, and he told me before he…passed that he wanted to go where my father went. He didn't want my father to be alone in his passing journey. As an older brother, he felt responsible for my father till the very end and he was his guide no matter where my father was." Lee hung her head down sadly.

Thorin sat up and hug her, "Lee, I'm sorry for making you sad, I didn't mean to! But that was a wonderful thing Crimm is doing for your father. He is…was a very honorable man, I am glad I had a chance to know him."

She shook her head, "I'm not sad, I'm glad you asked me. You're right, most dwarves will want to bury their dead. I want to be buried."

"You do?"

She nodded, "I do not much care for fire or be burned. I know I won't feel a thing, being dead already but…" She looked at him intently, "I want to be with you till the end and I know the Durin tradition to is to bury their dead and I want that for myself as well. I want to be buried next to you…forever."

He smiled as he reached out and stroke her soft cheek, "I like that. I want to be buried next to you so that we'll be together forever." He leaned in to kiss her.

Then she laughed as she added, "In a clear glass."

"What?" He laughed.

She laughed and repeated and added, "Like the glass case you put in the text script to preserve."

Thorin stopped laughing and thought seriously. "I'll make you one."

She stopped laughing too. "Thorin! I was jesting!"

He shook his head, "I'm serious Lee. I like the idea. It will keep you perfect forever."

Lee smiled as she stood up, "Thorin, let's not talk about it anymore. Come it's getting late."

He nodded as he let her dropped the subject and said, "You're right, time to get back."

They were each deep in thoughts as they walked back to the palace. Thorin could not stop thinking of the clear glass case Lee had mentioned.

He reminded himself that she was not…dead yet. Shaking his morbid thought out of his mind, he looked at her in the twilight and thought she was never more beautiful as the new crescent moon was barely visible in the sky. The sun had set a while ago, it was not quite dark yet, they could still see their without need of torches.

"What are you thinking Lee?" He asked her for she had been quiet.

Lees smiled, "Nothing much, your mother had been talking about children…"

Thorin chuckled, glad of the change of subject, "That she had been, what do you think?"

She shrugged, "You tell me first what you think."

He looked at her closely, "I…I'm not sure, do you want children now?"

"Do you?" She returned his question back at him.

"I ask you first Lee."

"I don't know Thorin, I...I think I am still young. We are still young and we have much time. I want to enjoy you more before we have children. Do you want them now?"

"I don't know Lee. If you want them, I have no objection. It's just that there's so much involved in raising a child. And we have much to do at this moment. You have a kingdom you and Jor will have your hands full soon, and if you were to have a child now, it's going to be harder on you."

She nodded. "What if I am?"

"Are you?" Thorin's eyes were wide.

"No! I…I...don't know Thorin! I don't think so." She almost sounded as if she was panicking.

Thorin turned to face her and gathered her in her arms to calm her, "Lee! Shh…no matter what, we'll…I'll be here. If we have a child now, that's great, if not then that's fine too, we'll have a baby whenever we are ready. Okay?" He looked at her eyes intently to assure her.

She looked back and felt much calmer, and nodded, "Yes Thorin, yes. I like that."

He didn't release her as he held her and walked them back to the palace.

They headed straight to their quarters when they returned.

.

…..

End of Chapter 36


	36. Chapter 37

**Thank you to all who add this story to your Follow, Alert, and Favorite! You are Awesome!**

Coming Of Age – Chapter 37

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Two weeks later, ThoraLee and JoraLee found out that besides daggers, they were very skilled with archery.

Their eyes, instinct and reflex were quicker than most dwarves, gave them that advantage.

"Do you see them?" Oin held his hand over his eyes like a visor to shield the warm afternoon sun over the clearing.

Gloin looked to his right and shook his head, "Shouldn't have paired the two, tried to tell Thorin that."

"Was not my idea either He insisted on trying them out. He wanted to take Frerin out himself." He agreed with his brother unhappily.

Gloin grunted his displeasure, "Never trust twins. They are nothing but trouble! I hope I will never have to deal with anymore twins in the future! Trouble, nothing but double trouble."

"Quit your belly-aching brother," Oin groused as he was looking for them as well. "Let's go."

Behind a tree, near the dwarves a soft whisper came, "Are they gone?"

A feminine giggle came, "Yes, they are headed out beyond the clearing. Quick let's gather bring them up before we're spotted."

"I'm getting them, sis! They are quite heavy, come help me."

A soft thud hit the ground and Lee looked about her quickly. She then moved behind the tree and gather all the rabbits they had shot with their new-found talent.

Today, they were to learn to hunt and stalk. Thorin had separated them in pairs.

The twins, Thorin and Frerin, Oin and Gloin, Balin and Dwalin.

They were to use only their bows and arrows and hunt rabbits.

It did not take the twins long to find the rabbits, especially if you knew where to look for them. Learning that skill from their wood elves helped a lot.

Fifteen rabbits later, the twins felt they have had enough. Besides, Thorin did not tell them how many they were to hunt but they figured they had enough. Archery had become quite easy for them and became almost bored as the rabbits had not proven any challenge to them. They also figured the others would hunt quite a bit of rabbits each. Dinner would be quite a feast tonight.

When Jor had brought all the rabbits up, Lee made her way up and found a branch comfortable enough to sit upon.

They knew dwarves did not like to climb trees as they were heavy built but the twins were not like the regular dwarves and they learned to climb from their elven friends.

When Gloin and Oin finally appeared, they were hot and tired. Jor nudged Lee and pointed at them below.

"Nothing...no rabbits," Gloin shook his head in disgust. "And I am supposed to be their weapons Master!"

"We would have one but you scared it away with your stomping about!"

"Did not!" Gloin shoved his brother grumpily.

Lee was giggling above them. Jora frowned at her as he shushed her.

"Where are the others? Are they here yet?" Oin looked beyond them. "Where are those confounded twins?"

"If we lost them, Thorin will surely have our heads." Gloin was rubbing his head fondly. They were placed in charge of keeping an eye of the twins today. Not something they liked or were thrilled.

Sitting against the tree, Gloin and Oin decided to nap and promptly fell asleep in the warm sun.

Soon, sounds of snoring came from below, silently, the twins crept down and Jor quietly draped a dead rabbit on Gloin's shoulder and another one over his stomach, its stomach exposed and legs spread out with an arrow sticking out of its chest.

Lee then crept in front of Oin and set one of the rabbit so that it sat directly at him, she then place Oin's bow that he had set it by him and put it on the animal's paw and tied it with vines and with an arrow, she pulled it through the bow and tied it around the bow. When she was done, it looked as if the rabbit was drawing an arrow and was about to strike at Oin.

Using two more rabbits, she placed them on top of each other with an arrow skewered through them.

She placed another rabbit down on the grass and stuck an arrow on its body, then put one more and bent its front knees with its front two paws in its face, as it was crying.

"Psst!"She turned and saw Jor signaled to her; the others were returning!

She moved quietly around and hopped up the tree and up the branch.

"Two! I caught two rabbits!" Frerin lifted up his catch proudly for his cousins to see.

Balin and Dwalin lifted his four and showed it to Frerin who glared at him as he flopped his catch by his side.

"I wonder how the twins fared." Thorin said.

"Probably scared off all the rabbits away." Frerin laughed.

Thorin smacked the back of his brother's head hard. "Oi!" he was rubbing his head as he glared at his brother.

They saw the tree which was their meeting point and saw someone asleep by the trunk. "Looks like Oin and Gloin gave up on their hunt."

They walked closer to them when they saw something else…

"What the…What is this?" Frerin pointed over at the tiny figures.

They began to examined the set ups and began laughing.

Oin and Gloin were then awakened by their loud laughter when Gloin saw the dead rabbit staring back at him on his chest and jumped up suddenly.

"Oi! What is this?"He exclaimed as he shoved the dead animals off him his shoulder in a hurry.

"Great Mahal! What the…?" Oin was looking at the dead rabbit with his bow and aiming an arrow at him.

"Where did all these rabbits come from?" Gloin wondered.

"Where are they?" Thorin arched his brow at his cousins.

The brothers shook their heads, "We lost them in the woods when we spotted a rabbit."

"YOU! You spotted that rabbit that got away. We were not so lucky after that!" Gloin pointed out.

"And?" Thorin prompted.

"And when we turned around, them confounded twins were no longer with us." Oin looked down at his feet with shame.

"So, you lost them?" Thorin said succinctly.

"That would be correct."

"Did I not tell you specifically to keep a close eye on them?"Thorin shook his head as he sighed.

"Thorin, I have to say, it was a bad idea to pair them up in the first place. They can't be trusted together." Gloin said, Oin nodded agreeably.

"The whole purpose of this exercise is if they are by themselves, they must learn to work together." Thorin explained to them.

"Oh! Well, should have told us." Oin said grumpily.

"Why do you think we've been doing these past weeks?" Thorin glared at them.

Above them, the twins exchanged looks and nodded; _it was time they showed their faces._

But they stopped when Thorin continued, "Find them, they are to work in the kitchen the rest of the day." He then turned away and headed back to the palace.

Jor and Lee stared at each other in horror as they jumped down, startling the rest of the dwarves.

Thorin turned around when he heard them jumped down.

"The kitchen work?" Lee glared at him?

"Where have you been?" He demanded.

The cousins pointed above the tree at the same time.

"You two have been up there all this time?" Thorin asked them. "You were supposed to hunt rabbits with your bow and arr…"

Before he could finish, the twins flung the rest of the rabbits by his feet. Frerin looked at his two rabbits and hid them behind his back.

Gloin looked about him as he began counting.

And counted again.

"How many, Gloin?" Thorin asked.

"Fifteen."

FIFTEEN!" They all exclaimed.

"How did you manage to hunt fifteen rabbits?" Gloin demanded angrily. "And don't tell me it's those blasted wood elves that taught you two!"

The twins nodded at the same time.

"Gor! I wish you two wouldn't nod your heads at the same time! It's just not natural!" Gloin snapped as he stomped away from them then stopped and turned back to them and pointed at the rabbits, "Take them to the kitchen, and you'll be working with chef the rest of the day!"Then he stomped away and muttered loudly about twins and trouble with them.

Frerin was on his knees the entire time laughing until tears was seeping out of his eyes, "You should see his face," he said in between his laughing bouts. "Those eyeballs were staring back at him really scared him almost out of his pants!" Frerin was now lying prone on the ground, pounding the grass.

Suddenly a whole bunch of dead rabbits came flying and landed hard as Oin threw them at Frerin annoyingly at him as he walked away from them.

…..

That evening at dinner;

The Durin family were sitting down to dinner when Thrain saw two empty seats.

"Where are the twins?" He looked at Thorin, one of the empty seat was his wife.

"Kitchen duty, father," he said simply.

Nut brows raised, "Kitchen duties? But they are roy…"

Thorin explained to them their afternoon escapades.

Thrain and Nur were shaking their heads as they were laughing, "They are as bad as… no, worse, than the two of you, Thorin and you Frerin when you two were younger."

"We were not that bad, father." Thorin shook his head, trying to maintain some dignity.

"I have to agree with Thorin, your Majesty," Balin said. "These twins are absolutely the worse! I hope they never have any twins!"

"Hear! Hear!" Gloin, Oin and Dwalin raised their goblets of wine and nodded as Balin did likewise.

Thorin did not say a word as he sat silently; a look of fear, just a small look appeared on his face. It occurred to him that Erimm was a twin, and then ThoraLee and JoraLee. What were the chance twins run in the Nogrod family? _If Lee were to have children, would she have twins?_ Thorin suddenly paled as he began to drink deeply. He hoped she would not have twins; he would not know what to do! Run and scream! Or sent them to Nogrod…to JoraLee. There! He was their Uncle, and as a twin, he would know what to do!

Seeing the servants entering with the first set of dishes, Thorin found that he was hungry and smiled as he smelled the cooking of freshly baked bread and sat up.

As they place several large dishes of breads, they all saw something odd.

Thrain picked up a loaf of bread and looked closely and began to chuckle, "Lee and Jor!"

He held it up for them to see and they laughed.

The loaf of bread was all shaped to look like rabbit.

Nur grinned, "Quite a good likeness."

Thorin shook his head as he pick a loaf and tore its head and chewed at it.

"Taste pretty good." He said.

More servants came, carrying big plates of meats. They saw with more laughter; the rabbits cooked with sticks of carrots stuck across in their mouth, and some had potatoes for eyeballs. Nur tried not to look at them too much but they were too much for her as she laughed hard.

Gloin stared at them grumpily, "I'm starting to hate rabbits."

"I think they are having too much fun helping cook in the kitchen." Thrain said as he helped himself to a rabbit.

A servant came in holding a large bowl with a covered lid and placed it in front of Gloin, "Compliments of… chef, Master Gloin. Enjoy your…soup." He left hurriedly.

They looked at him as he uncovered the bowl.

"It seemed chef knew you might not like rabbits tonight and made you a special dis…oh!" Oin almost jumped out of his seat when Gloin yelped out loud…

Gloin had picked up a spoon and stirred the bowl and yelped out loud as he tossed the spoon out of the bowl. The brothers were out of their seats as they stared at the bowl. "I've had enough with those two!" Gloin was holding his chest where his heart was pounding hard.

"What is it?"Thrain asked as he couldn't see, being seated too far from him. Balin who was sitting on Gloin's other side, spooned some of the contents and held them up to Thrain's viewing and everyone saw that they were milky eyeballs as Balin plopped them back into the bowl.

"Nothing surprises me anymore with those two." Thrain shook his head as he continued to eat.

"I'm going to get even with them, I am…just watch." Gloin was glaring at no one in particular.

"Could have been worse," Frerin shrugged as he ate. "Could have been a deer or pigs."

"I'll talk to Lee, tell her to lighten up." Thorin said quietly.

Gloin shook his head, "No need, Thorin. I can handle them. I will handle them."

Thorin narrowed his gaze at his cousin; he didn't like the way he had looked, should he warn her? Thorin shook his head. They did deserve whatever Gloin had in store for them for all the pranks they played on him.

After the main course was eaten, which of course the bowl of eyeballs soup was rejected.

Dessert was served. Surprisingly, it was good and no surprises. Apple turnovers. The crusts were baked to perfection. The crème served on the side was fresh and creamy.

Gloin was given two helpings; the twins knew he had a sweet tooth and it was their way of making up to their mischief.

Later, when Gloin went down to the kitchen to talk to chef about the eyeballs soup, he saw to his surprise, the twins were washing dishes! The rest of the staff was sitting down to their meals!

"Master Gloin! This is a surprise!" Lee was grinning. "Did you enjoy your dinner?" she asked saucily. Jor was shaking his head.

"I...well, it was too much. My palate did not extend to eyeballs but rabbit meat was quite delicious." He then turned to chef and said, "Thank you, chef, for an excellent meal." Gloin said to the fat dwarf was happily eating a very big portion of rabbit stew and bread.

"I didn't cook, Master Gloin, Her Highness, and His Highness over there did all the work. We didn't hafta do anything but sat here." The others nodded happily. "They knew their way around bouts the kitchen…quite good cooks too, if you ask me." He continued eating as if no one had interrupted him.

Gloin raised a brow but he didn't say a word as he nodded and left the kitchen.

When he joined the others in Thorin's quarters' for their nightly beer, Gloin told them what he leaned.

Thorin smiled, "They cooked the entire dinner for us?' Gloin nodded, a new admiration in their eye and his anger at them had abated completely. "Will they ever cease to amaze us?"

"I doubt it, I highly doubt it." Balin shook his head as he drank his beer as he smiled. "Still, I would watch for them, they are as wily as ever. I wouldn't put it past them to not let up. Just watch your backs."

Much later that night, Lee was sound asleep when Thorin came to bed. He gathered her to him as he took her hands and found they were swollen from washing. He kissed them individually.

"I hoped you and Jor have learned your lessons today." He said softly between kisses.

"I hope Gloin was not too angry with us."

"I would stay away from him if I were you, for a while."

She giggled, "It was quite fun, though."

"Just don't overdo it."Thorin reached up and kissed her long and deep.

"I won't, he is too much like a big brother to us." She owed.

He didn't reply as he was busily removing her clothing…

…..

End of Chapter 37


	37. Chapter 38

Coming Of Age – Chapter 38

.

Durin's Day. A day was celebration for all the folks of Dale and Erebor.

A huge feast was set up in the palace in honor of Thorin's and ThoraLee's union. Well, as everyone knew they were wedded, this was their 'official' union day.

Also on this day, King Thrain announced to all that JoraLee was officially recognized as the rightful heir and King of Nogrods and ThoraLee the Queen Regent. Thorin was now acknowledged as Prince Regent to ThoraLee.

The twins had decided to choose for the Nogrods new colors of green and amber, a match to their eyes.

At first they could not think of any colors the twins could agree upon until finally in frustration, Thorin, who was glaring at her, saw her eyes and blurted the colors of them. Thinking that they would argue about it but the twins found that they really liked the colors. So now, the twins, regally attired in green and amber that matched their eyes stood before the astonished people of Dale as they bowed to them.

The Durin family wore their gold and blue with the gold helmet and gold anvil of Durin, stood with them.

It was a simple yet grand ceremony. The wedding was even more expected by the people of Dale for they all thought Thorin and Lee made a perfect couple.

As they sat in the Grand Halls in Erebor, everyone, of course, was invited to the palace. But the guests of honor to the ceremony were none other than little Bels and Nuin. They were in their best clothing made, of course by Bels' mother.

Little Bels' dress was a pale green long flair sleeves with wide skirts. Nuin's was a pale green tunic with black pants, a smaller version of what the Princes were wearing.

ThoraLee's wedding gown was green and amber with gold and sapphire lining along the hems of the bottom of the gown and the edge of her long sleeves. JoraLee was similarly attired but only green and amber with black pants.

Dis was in a happy mood to see so many people around her, she was under the watchful gaze of her nurse while Nur enjoyed the feast.

Earlier that morning, Lee and Jor along with Thrain, Nur, Thorin and Frerin and sign a long agreement, whereby if anything happened to the twins, Thrain would have the authority to take over the reign of the Nogrods. After Thrain, came Thorin, then Frerin, then Dis with Nur's overseeing her until she reached her adult age of 81, and which ever children Nur had here after.

If JoraLee were to wed and had children, they would be heir to the Throne of the Nogrods.

If ThoraLee and Thorin had children before Jora produced children, Lee's children would inherit the Throne.

If Jor and Lee had children at the same time, ThoraLee insisted that JoraLee's children inherit the Throne.

It was a very long Will but it had to be worded carefully and precisely so there would be no contest to the will in the future from anyone, any children who were not Nogrods. It was an ironclad Will.

Both royal families signed the Will, witnessed by the four cousins. It was then put in the safe compartment where the Arkenstone was kept in Nur's quarters.

Back at the feast, Thorin was grinning happily. Now everyone, everywhere knew he was wedded to his ThoraLee.

He felt as if he was newly wedded to her!

"You look simply beautiful tonight, rúzín." He rasped as he found he couldn't keep his eye from her, he picked up her hand and began kissing her knuckles. "When can we leave?" He said softly to her.

Lee's cheeks were inflamed as she said, "The feast just began, Khazad-zukin!" She tightened their hands.

"Maybe if we leave unnoticed…"

"Thorin!" Balin smacked his back as he came to see him and Lee to offer a toast to them.

Frowning, he picked up his goblet and accepted his toast and drank with his cousin.

Lee leaned over and whispered to him, "Be nice." And drank to Balin's toast.

Soon after, one by one Dwalin, Oin, Gloin, Frerin, and Jor toasted to the happy couple.

Thorin was rubbing her leg while they were toasting them so softly yet teasingly that Lee was beginning to feel the urge to rush everyone away too!

Then Thorin began to lean close to her so that his arm was pressing the side of her breast, so much so that she began to press against him as well while she stared at him, her green eye darkened to match his eyes.

"Thorin…"She whispered urgently at him. "I can't wait…" She was tightening her hold on his hand.

Thorin swallowed hard as he nodded and looked around and saw that everybody was busily talking and they didn't seem to be paying much attention to them so…

"Come on...if dash away now." Thorin stood up and held his hand out to her and she quickly grabbed it. They looked around and began to walk towards the direction of their quarters when a good natured merchant from Dale came up and congratulated to the couple. Thorin and Lee thanked them and trying not to sound rude, they tried to inch their way away from him but the man was a talker, and he kept talking to them as Thorin and Lee nodded at him politely but not exactly listening to him as they kept moving.

Then another, and another…

All through the evening, they were stalled from heading to their quarters.

Finally as the hour was drawing late, the citizens began to leave, Thorin and Lee were able to more than four paces without being stopped by someone as they glanced at each other and hurried along.

Smiling happily they ran along the hallways leading to their doors and found the handles did not move.

Thorin turned it again, it wouldn't budge. Lee tried it, it didn't work for her either.

"I bet Jor has something to do with this!" Lee exclaimed.

"Your bedroom!" Thorin looked along the hallways to their left, to another set of doors.

She smiled as they headed back and tried the handles; it didn't budge.

Frustrated, Thorin glared at her, "I'm going to find him, and make him open the doors. Wait here."

She nodded.

He ran down the stairs to the guest rooms where Jor was staying but there was no one within.

He thought maybe, his brother Frerin was involved in this, after all those two had become thick as thieves!

Thorin tried Frerin's quarters; no one was there either.

Where could the two be? He decided to return to his quarters.

"I can't find Jor or Frerin." He shook his head.

"What about your living quarters?" Lee suggested.

He nodded and together, they headed along.

When they arrived there, the doors were closed and locked as well.

Thorin was feeling extremely angry, "This is both our brothers, I just know it."

He walked back to his rooms and began banging against the doors with his shoulders.

"Be careful, dear…I don't want you hurt on our wedded eve." She grinned.

"I'm fine. When I have this confounded door opened, I'll make sure you and I are the only ones that have the keys to this room as well as yours. Blasted Frerin! And Jora!" He exclaimed loudly.

Lee shook her head as Thorin continued to bang against the door until it finally crash opened! Thorin fell within as the door broke down completely.

"Well, at least you managed to get it opened." She helped him propped the door back on its frame.

As they entered, they realized something else was not right …through the weak moonlight streaming in from the tall windows, they saw the room was completely bare! All the furniture was removed! Thorin's bed, dresser, desk, chair, everything was gone.

"Dear me!" Lee was laughing as she looked about her, her laughter echoing around her in the empty room, making her laughed more.

"This is not funny Lee!" Thorin walked about him as he tried the connecting door and found it unlocked, he walked through and shook his head, his hands on his hips.

Lee had walked into her room and looked about her; her bedroom was bare as well.

"Where do you suppose we shall sleep tonight?" Thorin raised his arms about him.

"We can go to one of the guests' rooms or here on the floor." She suggested.

"My wife will not be sleeping on a hard floor on her first wedded night." He pointed as he gathered her to him.

"Your wife does not mind where she lay as long as she is with her wedded husband."

"To the guest room then." He released her but held on to her hand as he pulled her along.

But that proved to be not an easy task for all the guests' rooms were locked as well!

"Wait, did you not say you went to Jor's room? And Frerin's room?" Lee asked.

Thorin smiled, "Yes and they were unlocked, come, let's go!"

Laughing they ran until they reached the closest on which was Jor's…of course, it was…locked.

"Let's try Frerin's, although I suspect it is probably locked as well." Thorin said.

Five minutes later, they found that it was.

"What now? I am up for any suggestion, and I am getting wary of this. I am ready to just lay right here." Thorin said.

Lee walked to him and laid her head on his shoulder, "I am too."

Thorin was thinking of several ways of skinning both their brothers when suddenly he remembered the one room he hoped they had not thought of!

"Lee, I just remembered the one place no one knew there was a bed."

Lee looked at him with a frown, she couldn't think of one.

"Come with me, you will soon know." He grinned as he grabbed a wall torch and began to descend the stairs.

Lee smiled when she saw where he was headed to.

"The basemen!" She exclaimed.

Thorin looked back to her and nodded, "They would not know about it."

Hand in hand, they made their way down several stairs until they came upon the landing leading to the door.

Thorin tried the handle, and it was unlock!

Lee giggled excitedly; _finally they had outsmarted them!_

Thorin quickly lit the wall torches and soon the room was softly lit as they stared at the bed as though it was beckoning to them.

Lee smiled shyly at it as she recalled those late night she had lain with him. She glanced up and saw that Thorin was recalling those days as well, his eyes were darkening as he watched her intently.

"My beautiful ThoraLee," he whispered softly as he raised his hand and stroked her cheek gently, he saw her green eye darkening.

He picked her up and lain her on the bed and lying with her, he leaned down and kissed her softly. "Rúzín…"

She nodded as she raised her hand and stroked his beard, "Khazad- zukin."

Kissing her deeply, he held her hand up above her head, she tightened their hold as she responded to his passionate kisses, "I love you Thorin, eternally."

"And I love you, my ThoraLee…forever till the end."

…..

The next morn…

"They are not in there?" Frerin poked his head in and shook his head.

"Nay, the door is broken though," Jor looked at the broken door in wonder as it was quite a thick piece of wood. "He was determined to get in."

Frerin looked at the splintered hinges, "Father will not be pleased when he finds out."

"What the…?" the younger dwarves turned around suddenly to find their four cousins staring at the crooked door. "What happened? Did they have another physical altercation?" Gloin's eyes were wide as saucers.

Frerin and Jor shrugged, "We played a prank on them last night. But as for this physical altercation…I don't think they fought, well…they are not within."

The cousins hurried within the room and saw it was barren.

"Where are the furniture? Where is Thorin's bed?" Balin turned to Frerin and Jor.

The two grinned, "We hid them."

"How did you…no, I don't want to know. Where are they?" Oin demanded.

Jor shrugged, "We do not know, they are not here, nor in Lee's room."

"Wait, did you two hide her things too?"

The two nodded.

"Of all..! Great Mahal!" Oin was sputtering as he shook his head. "You two shall find them, then, you will put their things back in their rooms or your father will hear about it!"

Frerin and Jor slumped their shoulders, "But we don't know where they went?"

"What about the guests rooms?" Dwalin suggested.

Jor shook his head, "We locked all the doors."

"All of it?" They nodded guiltily.

"My word! Where could they be?" Dwalin began to look panicked.

"I'm sure they will show up eventually." Frerin offered.

"Let's go, I'm hungry." Dwalin said.

Balin glared at his brother, "Really, Thorin and Lee are missing and all you can think is your stomach."

"I can't think on an empty stomach."

"Well, I'm hungry too." Jor said. "I'm sure they had a late night."

"For your sake, they better be all right." Balin glared at the two. "All right, let's go eat. I'm getting hungry too."

Gloin and Oin shook their heads at the two young dwarves before they turned and headed to the Dining Halls.

Of course when they arrived at the Dining Halls, Thorin and Lee were not there.

Thrain and Nur, however, were breaking their fast.

The six dwarves sat quietly down as the servants served their breakfasts.

They were quiet as they ate.

Thrain looked at one by one suspiciously but could not find anything the matter until he looked closely at his youngest son who looked guilty as he tried to eat.

"Frerin," Thrain began, Frerin almost jumped out of his seat as he looked at his sire. "Why, what is the matter with you?"

"Me? Nothing Father, nothing is the matter. Is something the matter?" Frerin dropped his fork and nervously picked it back up.

Nur looked closely at her son as well, then at Jor and saw he too wore the same look. "Hmmm…What is going on?"

The cousins did not look up as they kept their heads down as they busily ate.

"STOP!" Thrain exclaimed loudly. The cousins stopped eating as they looked at Thrain apprehensively.

"What. Is. Going. On? And don't tell me nothing, all of you have never eaten so quietly before. There is mischief abound and about, and it has all your names on it. I want to know or you'll be mucking pony stalls for the rest of the week, all of you."Thrain threatened.

The cousins shook their heads and pointed at Frerin and Jor, "Ask those two, your Majesty."

Thrain looked at Jor and then at Frerin.

"JoraLee?" Thrain prompted.

Jor looked at Thrain with an arched brow, "We locked Thorin and Lee out of their rooms."

"What?" Nur exclaimed.

Quickly, the two mischief makers told them what they had done the night before.

"All their furniture?" Nur whispered in disbelief. They nodded.

"Dear Mahal!" She paled as she shook her head. "Where are they now?"

Jor glanced over to Frerin, "We don't know. They were not in their rooms, as we hoped they would be."

"What ever possess you two to do such a thing to your brother and sister? On their wedded night?" Thrain shook his head as he rubbed his face slowly.

Jor and Frerin did not answer as they kept their heads down.

"Are you sure you locked all the guests' rooms?" Nur asked, just to be sure.

They nodded.

"Where could Thorin…?" Nur did not finish her query as the two 'missing' people finally made their appearance holding hands, looking happily at everyone.

Thorin and Lee greeted them happily as he held her chair out for her. And then he sat next to her.

"Where…how..?" Frerin looked at his brother as he couldn't' continue his sentence.

Thorin arched a brow at his younger brother and said, "Why Frerin, you looked perturb, what is the matter with you?"

"Did you sleep well, brother?"

"Of course I did!" He looked at his wife lovingly. Lee returned his look softly.

"On a bed?" Jor asked.

"Jor!" Lee exclaimed at her brother.

"I..I..mean did you sleep on a bed?"

"Jor, that is not appropriate to ask."Balin shook his head.

"She knows what I mean."

Thorin nodded at Jor, "Yes, we did sleep on a bed, after spending half the eve looking for one but you and my brother overlooked one place. And no, I am not telling you two where it is."

Lee nodded her head in agreement.

Frerin and Jor exchanged looks and shrugged their shoulders, they knew their plans had failed.

"Ah well, sis, we tried."

"I know Jor, better luck next time." She eyed him and grinned.

…..

.

End of Chapter 38


	38. Chapter 39

Coming Of Age – Chapter 39

.

Nogrod lay in the north central part of the mountain range, near Mount Dolmed where the Dwarf-road of Beleriand crossed into Eriador. It guarded one of the only passes through the mountain range. It was home to the Dwarves of Nogrod.

It was agreed upon for the twins to set forth for Mount Dolmed, their inherited kingdom one month after Durin's Day.

With them, Thrain, Thorin, Gloin and Oin were to accompany them. Thrain was to lend his presence should there be any challenges to their names. After all, who would dare challenged the King of Erebor, The Durin King. Accompanying the royal entourage was the Durin army.

Queen Nur, Frerin, Balin and Dwalin were to stay behind in Erebor.

But first, a week after their wedded day was Dis' First Birthing Day.

It was to be a simple celebration amongst the royal family. Dis was learning to walk on her own which was an accomplishment for a little dwarven baby. She was loved by all those around her, especially ThoraLee.

She visited and played with the little one every day. Taking her for walks in the garden grounds while Nur rested in the afternoons, sometimes Thorin accompanied them. Jor would also accompany them as well. Dis became very fond of her new family members and looked forward to her afternoon walks. The weather was cooling as Autumn was approaching but for the dwarves it was a welcome weather to embrace.

After a simple feast of meats, cheese and bread. Nur declared that it was a nice day for all to enjoy, especially for the birthday girl and decided to hold the grand picnic in the big clearing to accommodate the food she had planned for everyone, including the servants and guards.

As the servants milled about preparing foods and things in the kitchen, Thrain decided that the men should go hunt for some wild animals. Thorin and Jor were all for the hunt. Lee chose to stay behind to keep Dis while Nur made preparations for the feast.

"Pwetty fwowers, Wee!" Dis pointed her chubby hand at the flowers. They had walked to the tree where she and Jor had hid from the cousins when they had gone rabbit hunting all those weeks ago…

Near the roots, there were a splatter of wild daisies growing about, attracting the attention of the little dwarven child.

Lee smiled at her, "Yes Dis, pretty flowers."

She plucked a yellow daisy and put it on Dis' curly brunette hair, the little girl giggled delightfully. "Pwetty."

"Yes, you are pretty." Lee smiled as she could see so much of Thorin in Dis; her blue gray eyes with long lashes, her lips rosy red and her hair was the exact color matching to his. She wished she had a daughter just like Dis, pretty as a flower! And she was a happy baby!

She picked her up and spun her around as she laughed happily.

Then Lee sensed something was wrong as she looked about her; the servants had stopped moving and were staring into the woods that connected to the clearing.

She narrowed her gaze as she looked closely to edge and saw something in the grass moving rapidly towards the edge as it broke out of the woods and she saw their fear…

Orcs! There were at least six of them on riding on wargs as they stopped and eyed at the servants who began to scream out loud and scattered about them.

Lee clutching Dis backed slowly so as to not draw any attention found she had backed into the tree.

Dis cried out in fear when she heard screaming about her.

"Shh…quiet Dis! I'm here…stay quiet." Lee whispered to her calmly but deep inside she was quaking like a leaf.

All she was armed with was her dagger which was nothing against six orcs on six wargs!

Thorin and the others were nowhere near at all!

She could climb up the tree with Dis and wait out till the men came back.

There were no signs of the guards, they were all within the palace as the feast had not begun.

The wargs attacked the servants brutally, ripping at them, silencing their screams.

Then one of the orcs spotted her and began to advance at them.

She quickly climbed up the tree but it was not easy holding a child with one hand and trying to grasp the branch while shaking frighteningly.

She was on the top branch just as the warg came upon them snarling and snapping at the trunk.

The orc stood on the warg and tried to slash at her as it grinned maliciously at them.

Dis was crying hysterically by now, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

"Scawd, Wee!" She screamed, "Mamma!Mamma! Wan Mamma!"

"I know you're scared Dis! I am too, hold on tight to me!" Lee cried.

Dis began to struggle in her panic while Lee tried to hold on to her, at the same time the orc was shaking the tree.

Suddenly, Lee lost her grip on Dis as the little girl slipped out of her grasp in her struggle, her little legs were now dangling on the bottom of the branch.

The orc tried to slash at her little legs, Dis screaming louder!

Unable to control her, Lee grabbed at her dress as she jumped on the warg and faced the orc and as hard as she could she stabbed the orc right into its chest, taking him by surprise.

The orc fell out of the warg dead.

Now, riding on the warg with Dis, Lee was about to jump off when she spotted another Orc rider advancing towards them, this one had a bow and arrow and was aiming at her or rather at Dis!

Bending down low, covering the girl, Lee grabbed the reins and rode the warg towards the advancing orc.

The orc shot arrow at her and hit her on her shoulder, stunning her for a moment as she reached over and grabbed his bow and knocked the orc off the warg with the bow.

Feeling intense pain but she was not giving up as Dis was relying upon her.

"Dis, grab hold of me tight, don't let go of me, you hear!" she yelled out loud as she continued to ride on the foul beast.

As she turned it around, she looked down and saw a sword by its side and pulled it out. The orc she knocked out was on its feet and was running towards her, screaming in anger.

"Yeah, scream all you want, ugly. I'm ready for y..!" Her body jerked forward suddenly, as another pain hit her lower back. Another arrow! She turned slightly and saw another orc rider with a bow and arrow!

She shook her head, she was mad now as she gritted her teeth in pain. "I can take it." She kept telling herself as the pain increased every time the warg hit the ground. Grunting hard she saw the orc on the ground approaching close and held the sword tight and with a big long sweep she swung at it and cut its head off as it rolled on to the grass, its body falling down dead.

Lee began to breathe hard as she pulled the warg short, causing it to stop running and turning it around she faced the orc who shot her in her back. It was readying another arrow as it aimed it at her.

She kicked the beast on its side and the warg took off running but she didn't get close as the orc release the arrow and it struck Lee, this time near her heart as her body jerked again, she held fast on the warg.

Fortunately for her, the hunting party came back as Thorin shot and killed the orc and the warg dead instantly. He also killed the warg she was riding on as she fell off it, holding tightly to Dis.

"LEE!"Thorin was yelling at her, his eyes wide with fear when he saw two black arrows on her and one her back!

She was trying to breathe but it was hurting her badly, her chest felt as if it was burning as there was hardly any air for her to take in.

"Dis…keep safe…" she gasped, as he held her. Jor had stood by her and grabbed Dis holding on to the little child who tried to get back to Lee.

Thorin saw his sister crying still, tears flowing freely on her cheeks, "Wee! Scawd!"

The others who had killed the other orcs and wargs had come running to Lee, saw her injuries began to weep as blood was all over her body.

"Lee! Why!What happen?" Thorin was in tears but he didn't care.

"Had to keep Dis safe…orcs?"

"They're all dead Lee." Gloin was by her side holding her hand. "You did well, you killed two of them!"

She tried to smile at him but her eyes were closing, "Good…"

"No! Stay with me, Lee!" Thorin shook her gently. "Oin get your medicine bag!" He yelled at his cousin.

Oin looked at him and shook his head sadly but he didn't say more, there was nothing to say. He knew her wounds were beyond his medicine bag or his knowledge.

Thorin glared angrily at him, "OIN! GET THESE ARROWS OUT OF HER!"

"I can't, Thorin. It's too late, there are too many…" Oin said softly. "You need to say your goodbye to her now."

"No!" then he looked at her. "Lee, you promised me, we are to be together forever remember!"

She opened her eyes. "I'm sorry Khazad-zukin…I love you…eter…nal…" And she closed her eyes.

"NO!" Thorin screamed out loud! He gathered her lifeless body to him tight as he sobbed hard.

"NO!NO!NO!"

JoraLee held onto Dis as Frerin tried to move Thorin but he wouldn't budge as he held to her tightly.

"GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Dis pointed to Lee, "Wanna Wee! Wanna Wee!"

Jor shook his head, eyes full with tears, "Lee's gone Dis, no more Lee." As he put his head on the girl and cried.

Dis patted Jor's head, "Kay...Jor…kay Jor...Wee seeping?"

Jor shook his head, "Not sleeping…gone…gone…" as he continued to cry more into her body while she patted his head.

Thrain put his hand on Thorin's shoulder, "Son, we have to take her back. Let's go, son." He had tears in his eyes as well.

Thorin shook his head, "She promised me, father. She promised me we'll be together forever…till eternal. She broke it…" he cried again, his shoulders shook hard.

"She is in your heart now, no matter where you go, son. You will be with her when your time comes." Thrain said gently, his heart breaking for his son.

Balin and Dwalin were crying freely as well as Gloin and Oin as they held onto each other.

Frerin was sitting on the grass, his head in his hands as he let tears flowed.

Nur who had been in the palace when word of the orc attack came was kept from coming out, was finally seen running, her first concern was Dis.

When she saw Jor holding her daughter, she felt relieved throughout her body; her baby was all right. But yet, everyone was upset, no…not upset, sorrowful. Then she saw the cousins crying!

_Dear Mahal! What is happening? She began counting heads and saw Thorin holding Lee…arrows on her body! Oh no! OH NO! Not Lee! _Tears began to form in her eyes instantly!

"Mamma!Mamma!" Dis saw Nur and held her arms out but Nur was not seeing her daughter for once as she dashed to Lee's side and began to cry.

Thrain came around and knelt by her and gather his wife to him and held her as she sob hard.

Later, a few servants came with a litter but Thorin ignored it and stood up, He carried his wife himself to the palace, walking all the way to his quarters. The servants and guards stood aside with their heads bowed as they wept when they saw Thorin with Lee's lifeless body.

When he reached his bed room, he placed her on his bed, then he straightened her arms by her side of the body.

He saw that the arrow behind her was in the way and broke it off and threw it away. Now she was able to lay properly on the bed, as though she was sleeping.

He then gently stroked her cheeks, her lips and leaned over and kissed her softly.

He held her hand and stayed with her the rest of the afternoon and night, he didn't come out of his room nor did he permit anyone to enter…

Dejected and rejected by Thorin, Frerin, Jor and the cousins went to Thorin's quarters' and consoled themselves with beer and talk, and crying.

Jor was staring blankly into the fireplace, he still could not wrap his mind that his sister, his twin was gone from this life, his life. He recalled that this morn, they were happily wishing the little girl her first completed year of her birthing day, and laughingly wishing her many more! He recalled his and Lee's birthing years, all through those years as they grew up together…together! They were never apart! Now, they were to be…forever. He was never to see her again! He began to breathe hard! He clutched at the stem of the goblet hard as the implication was hitting on him.

Gloin muttered, "Did you see what she did?"

Balin stared at him but didn't say anything. Gloin continued, "She stabbed an orc, rode that beastly warg without fear with Dis in her arms and then took the head of the other orc, single handedly, with that blasted long sword."

"She protected Dis the whole time, not a single wound on the little one, amazing." He shook his head as he drank.

"Aye, she is a true warrior. A Khazad zul." Balin raised his mug up and toasted "ThoraLee, Khazad-zul!"

"AYE!" The others raised their mugs up as they looked up and toasted, "KHAZAD-ZUL!"

Then they wept again, they realized they would not see her ever again, for they had come to love her like they would a beloved sister…

As did Frerin, he had never had an older sister and she was caring and sisterly towards him. And she was lots of fun as he recalled the pranks she and her twin played on his cousins, he never had so much fun. And most times, he was not in trouble. And his brother was always happy. Thorin was the most happiest when Lee was around and he liked to see his brother being happy and he had hoped that one day, he finds a woman to love forever. He wanted the kind of love Thorin had for Lee. They were perfect for each other. And now, his brother was alone. Lee had left him. He hoped that one day, they would join together again. In another lifetime, Thorin would be reunited with his ThoraLee…

Thrain was sitting alone in the library. He had been there since everyone had returned from the fields. He sat before the plans he and Lee had drawn up the day before. Her ideas were brilliant and Thrain had liked them. They had planned on implementing them as soon as they reached Mount Dolmed. Now she would never see them through but he would honor her wishes when he arrived there.

Yes, he still intended to go through, although it would be slightly delayed. What with the funeral to arrange. Now, it would just be JoraLee, he would be ruling the Nogrods alone. The young dwarf would certainly need all the help from Thrain now.

He sighed heavily.

She was so young.

He should not have to be burying one so young and one so full of life. Indeed, her life had just begun.

Only 21.

My poor son. My poor Thorin. It was not fair to him that he never had the chance to spend the years like he did with Nur.

They had known each other less than one year, wedded less than one year. Thrain shook his head. They wedded on Durin's day not a week ago! Thankfully they had that secret wedding. He was glad they did not listen to him and Nur and waited.

He felt great sorrow for Jor; first Erimm and Crimm were cruelly taken, now his twin sister, ThoraLee. Life was just not fair. Mahal was not fair to them.

Thrain bent his head as he rubbed his face warily, "Oh Mahal! Why? Why did you take such a young life away from my son? It's just not fair, not fair at all. They are good people, they deserve longer lives, they deserve to live longer lives than I have. Not fair, just not fair at all."

He stood up and left the library and walked slowly to Nur's quarters, his heart was heavy…

Nur was still weeping as she tried to console her daughter.

"Wanna Wee? Mamma Wee?" Dis was tugging at her mother's hair.

Nur smiled sadly at her, "I'm sorry dear, Lee is gone, no more Lee."

"No Wee?Mamma?"

"No Lee, my dearest. Oh dear!" Nur cried hard as she put her daughter down in her crib and went to the chair.

"Poor ThoraLee! Why Mahal? Why did you take such a young heart with you? She doesn't deserve to go yet! My son needs her. They have so many years…many more years. Not fair! It's just not fair to do this to him!

He loves her so much, so dearly! Can't you see?" Nur glared tearfully at the darkening sky outside the windows in front of her.

"You took away the one thing that matters to him, the only thing that matters to him! They are good people. They loved each other so much. Is that it? You didn't like that they love each other so much you had to separate them?"

"Nur? Are you all right?" Thrain stood before her looking concerned.

She looked as her husband and went into his arms right away and sobbed uncontrollably.

Thrain held her tightly as he wept with her, "I know dear…I know….our poor son…"

"Not fair! Thrain! She shouldn't have gone just like that! She is too young!" She cried more.

Dis sat in her crib and began to cry when she saw her mother crying.

"Mamma….Mamma…"

They walked together to her and held their daughter closed to them, wiping her tears as she fell asleep in their arms, safely…

In the darkened room, Thorin stared at her, she looked as if she was asleep, sweetly and soundly asleep and that any moment, she would open her eyes and awakened. But he shook his head; she was never waking up from this sleep. This is sleep of hers was forever. He could not say good bye to her yet…nay, forever. He could not say good bye to her at all.

No…not ever…

In fact, he didn't say good bye to her when she drew her last breath.

He stroked her now cold hand but he didn't feel it. He thought that if he held her hand, he could provide heat for her, keeping her warm.

"Lee, you can't go yet…we have so much to do! Your kingdom in Mount Dolmed awaits you, I wanted to take you to the big forge in the Lonely Mountains, your wedded gifts, I have not made them yet! Lee! Why couldn't you wait? And our children? What about our children? Yes, I would even have twins with you. We will raise them just like you and Jor. They can be as bad as you and Jor. I want as many twins as you want. Girls, they would look like you. They would have your beautiful eyes and your face and your smile." He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles.

"Our children will be as horrible as you will be, Balin and Dwalin will try to teach them manners. Oin and Gloin will train them weapons. They will learn archery just like you did.

Our children will be the best in everything! They will be loved by all." Thorin could not go on as tears began to flow again.

"I miss you, rúzín. I miss your voice, why are you not talking to me?" He closed his eyes as he let dreams of her took him beyond this room…

.

End of Chapter 39

**Wow! Not an easy chapter to write, killing off one of my main characters! But it was necessary to branch into the next story and eventually leading to almost canon Hobbit. Yes, there will be one more chapter left!**

**J.**


	39. Chapter 40

Coming Of Age – Chapter 40

.

_Thorin was walking in the clearing, the grass was the deepest green and he could smell the fresh spring air. The sun was over the horizon above the Lonely Mountains, soft wisp of clouds blowing across the clear blue sky._

"_Thorin!" He turned around and smiled as saw her running to him._

_As she neared, he held his arms out wide to catch her, she was grinning wide. Her long brown hair billowing behind her, she was wearing her golden Nogrod crown above her brow. But she paid it no heed as she jumped into his arms, laughing like a girl._

_Suddenly, her laughter turned into shrieks as Thorin saw arrows piercing her body! He looked about her and saw dozens of orcs shooting black arrows! They were raining down upon them! But they were all missing him and fell on her!_

"_NO! NO! NO! Take me! Please! Take me, not her…"_

Thorin woke up with a hard jerk from leaning against the wall of the Great Halls.

"Thorin?" Balin touched his shoulder and looked at him in query.

Thorin shook his head, "I'm fine," he said moodily and tiredly; he had not slept much of late.

Balin frowned as he removed his hand.

It had been three days since that fateful day. They were standing near a pedestal they had erected; it was made of green stone that came up to the waist. On the pedestal lay ThoraLee. She was dressed in her wedding gown of green and amber with sapphire and gold lining. Upon her brow was a gold crown. JoraLee had made the crown himself in their father's workshop two days ago. It was entwined with the Nogrod and Durin Runes words together. On her hands which were crossed on her chest was her favorite dagger. By her side, Gloin had place a long sword she had used to behead the orc. Balin had placed a bow and a quiver of arrows he had made for her. He wanted to give them to her when they were to leave for Mount Dolmed. Oin had placed a short sword he made a long time ago and wanted to gift her, also when she left for her kingdom.

Dwalin's gift was not a weapon but an instrument. It was a flute. Lee saw Dwalin played the flute one eve and was fascinated by it and had asked him to teach her. She had proven to be a quick learner and Dwalin had carved a flute for her in secret, he wanted to present it to her on her birthing day. Now he would never get the chance to give her the simple flute. He swallowed hard when he placed it near her body, next to the long sword.

He tried to play a song for her last eve when everyone was gone to bed but he couldn't, his throat had gotten too thick and he became too distraught with sadness and anger that he broke his flute in two and threw them into the fireplace and left the great halls, swearing that he would never touch the flute or play an instrument ever again.

Thorin who had stood in the shadows nearby shook his head sadly when he saw his cousin left in tears. How his wife's death had affected everyone.

He walked up to her and looked on, he touched the wooden flute and shook his head again and told himself, maybe one day he would get Dwalin to play music again.

They never talked about music but she had heard Dwalin played and had liked it. He would honor her memories and wishes with music…but not at the moment. He looked at her, he couldn't bring himself to do anything yet. But there was something he wanted to do that would take time…

"Thorin?"

He turned around and saw his father standing before him.

"Father," he nodded his acknowledgement.

"How are you doing, son?" Thrain asked gently as he looked at his daughter in law lying on the pedestal so still, so beautiful.

"As well as can be expected," his voice broken but Thorin shrugged.

"What can I do to ease your pain?"

Thorin shook his head, "Nothing sire, you cannot bring her back alive." He swallowed hard, keeping his tears in check.

"I am sorry."

"As am I."

Thrain placed his hand on his son's shoulder and pulled him in and hugged him hard. The younger man couldn't contain himself any longer as he cried again in his father's arms.

"I missed her so much, father!"

Thrain's tears were flowing as well, "I know, I miss her too. She meant a lot to us all."

For a long time, they held on to each other. Drawing upon each other for support and strength.

Then Thorin pulled away from his father's arms as he wiped his tears and said, "I have a request father."

"Go ahead, what is it?"

"I won't be accompanying you to Mount Dolmed when you leave with Jor."

"Why?"

"I wish to take Lee to the Lonely Mountains."

Thrain frowned at his son, "I don't understand Thorin."

"Before she…she…passed, I made an oath to take her to the big forge in the mines in the Lonely Mountains, to show her how Mithril was made and I had wanted to make her a wedded gift. I never got the chance to do so. And there was something I wanted to do for her. It was something she wanted when she passed."

"May I ask what it is?"

"She wanted a glass covering to cover over her. I wanted to honor her wishes."

Thrain arched his brow at his son, "How long will you be away?"

"I don't know, as long as it takes to fulfill these wishes, father." Thorin looked at him.

Thrain gazed at his son and thought hard, "I needed you by my side, Thorin. Especially now when we make for Mount Dolmed, I don't know what to expect when we arrive but I understand the oath you made to Lee. I know you will not rest until you fulfill her wishes."

Thorin nodded.

Thrain sighed hard. "Very well, go with my blessing, my son. Will you take your cousins?"

Thorin shook his head, "Nay, this is for my wife. I go alone, sir."

"Then be safe."

"If I am done and you're not back, I will ride to meet you." Thorin promised.

Thrain put his hand on his son's shoulder again and nodded, "Good, I'm counting on you. But take care of my daughter in law first. She is most important."

Thorin put his hand on his father's shoulder and gave him a small smile, "Thank you father, I will. Take care of JoraLee."

The older dwarf nodded as they release their hands and separated.

….

The next morn, mourners from Dale came to pay their last respect to Lee.

They all could not get over the terrible shock of her death.

It was just a week ago they had celebrated her wedded day! Now they were mourning her passing life to Aulë!

What tragedy!

Their beloved ThoraLee!

Bels was beside herself! She could not be consoled. When she heard about her passing, she cried and cried all day and night! Not even her faithful friend Nuin could console her.

Her savior was gone, her savior could not be saved from those hideous orcs! How she had fought bravely!

Yes, news of how she had fought the orcs and protected Dis spread quickly throughout the city of Dale quickly.

They had protected the citizens from a horrendous orc attack that day. Many servants were killed as well but ThoraLee's death had affected them much more because she was loved by everyone in the city of Dale.

The cousins stood by her side as the citizens filed by to pay their respect to her. JoraLee was standing by her shoulder he did not say a word, nor was he seeing people walking by her. He wanted this over and done with. He was ready to scream out loud.

Suddenly, he heard singing and looked ahead and saw Eluin and the elves. They had come to see Lee and they were now singing a song of Lament for Lee.

The elves were holding a small green flower each in their hand. When they came upon her on her stone pedestal, the elves placed the flowers around Lee.

Eluin came to stand before Jor, "JoraLee," Eluin said in his light but sorrowful voice. "I am saddened to hear the passing of your sister ThoraLee. She is now with your great Aulë in the passing life."

Jor nodded as he cast his eyes down.

Eluin looked at ThoraLee's body, "She was our elf friend, as are you JoraLee. She fought bravely against the orcs. These flowers are now called Thora; we found them blooming this morn by the woods near the clearing. We have never seen them before till this morn. They are green like her eye, and yet there is a little amber color in the petals, like her other eye, so unusual, yet so like you and her." Eluin gazed at Jor closely and said, "There will never be eyes like yours and ThoraLee again. You will be a good King, JoraLee. _Namárie._" Then he straightened and placed the flower on her hand.

He stood before Thorin and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Young Prince Thorin of Erebor, fear not, she will always love you as you will always love her. You will be together soon. _Namárie_ my friend." Thorin nodded to him, he couldn't reply to him as his throat was thick with emotion.

Then to his cousins, Eluin bade them farewell too and turned away as he walked out of Erebor, never to be seen again.

The sun had set when the last of the mourners from Dale left. Frerin and the cousins had gone to the dining halls for supper while Jor had returned to his room, the mourners and their weeping were too much for him and Eluin's visit had left him perplexed. Jor was holding one of the flowers when he left for his room.

Thorin was once again left alone with his Lee. He also picked up one of the flowers and looked closely; Eluin was right, the green was like Lee's left green eye when she was in her happiest mood and in the center of the flower, the color had changed to amber, just like her right eye. Amazing, he had never beheld a flower of this kind before, then again he had never paid much attention to flowers at all. Thora, Eluin had named it, in honor of his Lee. He thought it was nice of the elf to do that for his beloved. Once again, she had touched another life, or lives.

"Excuse us your Highness?" a male voice called out.

Thorin turned around to see two guards standing before him…not guard but something else.

"You are?" Thorin asked.

The two bowed low, "I am Atum and he is Hilliem, your Highness. We are from the dungeons sire."

Thorin arched a brow at them; _from the dungeons? What is this about now?_

"We heard that you're to go to the Lonely Mountains with her Highness by yourself." Atum began.

Thorin frowned; _words traveled fast! He had just asked his father last eve!_ "Go on," he prompted them.

"Well, being that we don't have any prisoners here to guard, and nothing to do and we are saddened about the little lady's passing…"Arum said sadly as he shook his head.

"Little lady?" Thorin asked.

The two almost cowered, "Beggin' your pardon! That was what we called her Highness before she was her highness. It was when you put her into the dungeons all those weeks ago, and she spent the night in there."

Thorin remembered that time; it had seem so long ago! That was the first time they had met and she had hit him. He smiled fondly as he recalled how angry he was at her and yet, that was how it had all began…how he had fallen in love with her and her mesmerizing eyes and her ill temper!

"Your highness?" Hilliem called to him when he saw Thorin was smiling softly.

"Oh! Yes, do go on."

"Ah, well, as Atum was saying, you were going to the Lonely Mountains all by yourself with her Highness. We were wondering, and it would be our utmost honor, if you would permit us to accompany her, to escort her to the Lonely Mountains, Your Highness."

Thorin looked at them as if they were hit by a big boulder. He was about to say no, that he wanted to do this himself when something urged him otherwise.

He certainly would need help with her body; he would need to put her in a case and preserve her. And he knew he could not do it by himself.

_Let them help you, Thorin._ He heard a voice urging him.

He startled himself as he looked about him in the cavernous halls, and then he looked at Lee. She had not moved and there was no one about except for him and the two dungeon guards who were looking at him expectantly.

"It would certainly be my and Lee's honor to have you accompany us." Thorin said.

Atum smiled, "Thank you your Highness. She was a brave Princess …well a Queen. We knew her first and we thought it would be appropriate that we would be the last to be there for her."

Thorin nodded his head, "Yes, she would be glad of your company to the Mountains."

"Aye, we heard she fought bravely against them orcs! Killed two on her own." Hilliem said proudly as if she were his daughter.

"And her riding on that nasty warg! I have never ridden on a warg…not that I would want to, mind you." Atum shivered as he tried to imagine doing so.

"You would faint right away, Atum. Your old bones would shrivel up and …oh!" They just recalled being in front of Thorin but he didn't mind.

He smiled softly and said, "Very well, I'm sure she would want you two to go with her on this journey to the mountains. We will leave for tomorrow morn. Can you be ready?"

They bobbed their heads readily. "Yes sire!"

"Then I will see you at dawn in the courtyard." Thorin said.

"Thank you, your Highness, Thank you!" They bowed as they retreated in a hurry to pack.

Thorin shook his head and turned to gaze at his wife, "Well, my dear, it looks like we will not be alone after all."

_You will not be alone in your journey, Thorin love._

He thought he heard her voice whispered to him.

….

In the courtyard; Grakarbor was harnessed to pull a wagon. In the wagon was a long wooden box its content wrapped in soft white linen.

Thorin was saddled and ready on a pony. He was leading Grakarbor while Atum and Hilliem riding behind the wagon, waiting for the signal to go forth.

Thrain, Nur who was holding Dis, Frerin, and JoraLee was standing beside Thorin.

Balin, Dwalin, Gloin and Oin alongside the wagon, their eyes were red-rimmed with sorrow as they reluctantly stood and watch; they had wanted to accompany Thorin to the Lonely Mountains but Thorin had steadfastly refused them, telling them that Thrain and Nur needed them. And this task was his and his alone to fulfill.

The journey to the mines of Lonely Mountains was but a day and one night and it would take longer to go deep within the mines where it was cooler. Thorin knew there was a huge underground ice cavern where it was a perfect place to place Lee while he worked on her glass case. He didn't know how long it was to take him to make it as he had never work on glass before. But there were plenty of miners within the mountains and forge, there were bound to be someone there that knew how. If it took him years to learn, so be it. And he also could work on the Mithril she was so interested in knowing when she was alive. He could work on them as well.

Bidding his family farewell, and giving Atum and Hilliem a nod, they set forth with the precious cargo to the mines of the Lonely Mountains.

As they rode on, Thorin looked up and stare at the peaks;

_Do you see it Lee? I'm taking you to my mountains. You once call it Thorin's mountains. I don't know why, it should be ours and soon I'll be able to show you deep within the mines. You'll be amazed by the size of the mines! And the gold, there will be lots of gold within, we have miners constantly working, mining, and forging. Yes, Lonely Mountains belonged to the Durin family._

He thought he heard her giggled and said,_ I know that, Khazad-zukin, remember I read the script?_

Thorin smiled at the sky, _Ah rúzín, you are the smartest of all and the most beautiful! How I love you!_

_And how I love you, my Khazad-zukin! Remember…for eternal…_

Thorin's eyes were wet as he let his tears flowed down his cheeks freely, "Yes ThoraLee, for all eternal until the sun stops shining…that is my vow to you. I love you."

_And I love you…_ He could hear her voice trailing forever as it faded into the Lonely Mountains and then a soft breeze blew along as he closed his eyes; he imagined her hand brushing his face. He smiled as he raised his hand and touched his cheek, he could feel her soft touch.

My ThoraLee.

_I'll be waiting for you…my Thorin._

.

.

THE END

**There it is! It's completed! I hoped you like this story. **

**J.**


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